A Cullen Loves A Hale Book 3
by jumpingmanatee
Summary: After finally being able to cope with Emmett and his family leaving, Alexis discovers that her love for Emmett never went away. Her love and trust are soon put to the test when the Cullens return to Forks. No longer able to trust her mate for leaving her, Emmett must do everything within his power to win Alexis back. Will this determined vampire prove himself worthy of her trust?
1. Chapter 1

Emmett sat there in the tall grass for a while staring at his hands He let out a sob as he heard Alexis mournful howl in the distance. He didn't even notice when Jasper came up to him and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright, Brother?"

"She could have bitten my head off, but she didn't. Under all that anger, she still loves me, Jasper, I felt as plain as day."

"I told you she still loved you."

"Yeah, but I also felt her sorrow, she doesn't trust me, she thinks I'm going to hurt her again."

"Well, you'll just have to convince her that you're not going to do that." Jasper tells Emmett.

"Yeah, but how?"

"You'll think of a way, now come on, Alexis really did a number on Edward, we need to carry him back to the house."

Jasper and Emmett take their time walking up the hill, after all Edward wasn't going anywhere without them. When they reach the top they see that Carlisle had already found Edward's severed arm. Bella was standing off to the side with her mouth covered in shock at what Alexis had done. Bella was horrified at how easily Alexis was able to rip his arm off and nearly cleave him in two. But she was more upset that Edward had the nerve to attack her cousin in the first place for not changing her back into a person that he could manipulate.

Alice walked over to Bella and wrapped an arm around her, "Come on, Bella, I'll take you home."

Bella, still stunned, simply nods as Alice leads her out of the woods back towards her house. As they walk Alice studies Bella's face, she knew that Bella had changed over the past few months and it had only been for the better. She tried to tell Edward that his old tactics were not going to work on Bella anymore, that she was different, stronger. But he didn't want to listen. They walked on in silence for a while until Alice put her hand on Bella's shoulder.

"Bella I'm sorry for leaving you like that, I tried to tell him it wouldn't help, but he wouldn't listen."

"I know it's not your fault, Alice, he made you all move. The only person he couldn't control was Rosalie, but that was to be expected, she's always been independent."

"Yeah she has." Alice agrees.

They continue to walk in silence until they get to Bella's back door. Bella and Alice give each other a hug.

"Are you all here to stay?" Bella asks.

"Yes, all except Emmett and Rosalie, of course. They're heading vack to Seattle, so Jasper and I will see you at school on Monday and if Edward is healed by then so will he." Alice explains.

"Tell him I hope he feels better."

Alice raises an eyebrow, Bella rolls her eyes.

"I'm not completely heartless, I do still care for him, I may even still love him. But I'm a different person now, stronger more confindent. and I have no intention of going back to the way I used to be, I like the way I am now."

"As you should, I think what Lexie did to you, did you a world of good." Alice comments.

"Thank you, maybe someday Edward will see it like that and we can be friends. But until he realizes this is the new me and I'm here to stay. I don't want anything to do with him, can you tell him that for me?"

"Sure I'll pass on the message." Alice says as she waves goodbye to Bella.

As Alice was leaving, she saw movement in the trees across the street from Alexis' house. She flashes over and finds Alexis in her Lycan form standing just inside the woods, Alexis turns and growls at Alice as she approaches.

Alice holds up her hands in surrender, "I'm not here to cause trouble Lexie, I just want to help. Let me go to your house and get a change of clothes for you."

Alexis pauses for a moment, then nods. In a flash Alice is gone and back with a change of clothes for Alexis. She takes the clothes from Alice, steps behind a tree and transforms back. Once she's dressed she comes out from behind the tree.

"Thank you, Alice, I appreciate your help." Alexis says and walks off.

"He still loves you, you know." Alice tells Alexis.

Alexis pauses, she turns and looks at Alice and shakes her head, "It doesn't matter if he loves me or not, I can't trust Emmett anymore. I can't trust that if things get rough he won't just up and leave again, Alice. What he did is unthinkable to Lycans, you don't leave your mate, ever, no matter what."

"He made a mistake, can't you forgive him for that?"

"That's a pretty big mistake, Alice and I don't think I could ever forgive him for that. It's too big of a risk on my own heart."

"So then you still love Emmett?"

"I won't lie to you, yes, I still love Emmett, but is the risk worth it? No I don't think it is." Alexis says as she turns to walk into her house.

"You two will be together, I've seen it." Alice comments.

Alexis sighs, "For once, Alice, I think your vision is going to be wrong."

And with that Alexis goes into her house and shuts the door.

Alice stands there for a little while and stares at the house, she sighs and turns around to head back to her house.

"I don't think so, Lexie, my visions are never wrong." Alice says to herself with a smile.  



	2. The Will to Change

Once Alexis gets upstairs she decides to take a shower, rolling down a hill with Emmett did not leave her in the best conditions. She gathers some clothes and heads for her bathroom. And as she showers, she thinks over what Alice told her. That she had seen Emmett and her together in the end.

"No, she's wrong, there's nothing left for Emmett and me." Alexis says out loud, more to convince herself than anything else.

There was no way that she could let herself be hurt by him again. Emmett simply did not understand the bond of Lycan mates or he did not take them seriously. Alexis couldn't be with someone like that.

Unfortunately, she realized that for her, the bonds were still very real and very strong when she was transformed near him. And with that, those feelings came the reality that Ambrus was right, she was never going to be able to love anyone else. Tears of grief and loneliness mix in with the warm water that is running down her face.

Meanwhile at the Cullen house Emmett walks in supporting an almost cleaved in half, Edward Cullen, while Carlisle comes in behind carrying Edward's severed arm. Emmett was about to drop Edward in the middle of the living room like a sack of potatoes, until Carlisle tells him to take Edward to his study.

Emmett sighs, "Fine."

He throws him over his shoulder and carries him upstairs, Edward groans at the rough treatment. When they get to Carlisle's office, Emmett dumps him on the sofa.

"Why are you being an ass to me, Emmett, I'm the one Alexis injured."

Emmett, shakes his head, "I know what you did, Eddie Boy, Alice told me. Frankly you got off easy, only losing an arm and nearly getting cleaved in two. She could have ripped you apart limb from limb if I hadn't have shown up. What were you thinking choking my mate, I should kill you myself for that."

Edward looks down in shame, "I know, I don't know what came over me. When she wouldn't do what I demanded, I just lost it. And the funny thing is, Alexis did exactly what I wanted Bella to have in the first place. A life without me. I just never imagined it would be so difficult for me to move on without Bella."

"I know what you mean, I never wanted to live without my mate, and by the way things are going, I may just have to." Emmett tells Edward.

"No you won't, Emmett, my vision hasn't changed. It's a little difficult to see, but what I see is certain, you and Lexie end up together." Alice says as she walks into the room holding several bags of animal blood for Edward.

"Carlisle said for you to drink this, he'll be in, in a moment, to attach your arm."

Edward takes the blood bags from her and begins to drink. It will take several bags to help reattach his arm, human blood would be faster, but that's not an option. So once it's attached, he'll have to go hunting to gather his strength and heal from his abdominal wounds.

Once Edward drank his tenth blood bag, Carlisle came in to reattach his arm. He held Edward's shoulder in place and slowly start to reattach itself and the wound in his abdomen close somewhat. Edward stood up and flexed his arm, he looked down at himself and decided he needed to shower and change.

"After that, Edward, let's you and I go hunting." Carlisle suggests. Edward nods and leaves the room.

Carlisle turns and smiles at Emmett, patting him on the shoulder he too leaves his office to give Alice and Emmett a chance to talk.

"Now, explain, Pixie, what do you mean Lexie and I end up together?" Emmett asks as he crosses his arms over his chest.

"Well it's like I said it's not very clear, but I saw both of you together hugging and kissing, looking very happy together in this house." Alice tells him, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Emmett shakes his head, "You're wrong, Alice, I've lost her. She'll never trust me again."

"But you both love each other!" Alice cries

"What good is that without trust? She'll always believe I'll abandon her when things get rough."

"Emmett, you won't, I've seen it." Alice tells him firmly.

"I know I won't abandon her, I learned my lesson, but how do I convince Lexie of that?"

"You need to find a way, Maybe that Ambrus guy can help you?" Alice offers.

Emmett scoffs, "He'd rather kill me than have me close to Lexie."

"It's worth a shot, Emmett. If he's as good a friend as you say he is, Ambrus is going to want her happy. And you are her happiness. There's no harm in trying."

Emmett thinks about it for a moment, "You're right, Pixie, what have I got to lose. I'll talk to him at school on Monday. Thanks for the help." Emmett says then hug her.

"You're welcome, you big oaf," Then she elbowed him, "And for the record my visions are never wrong."

Emmett holds his hands up in surrender, "Whatever you say, Pixie."

In the meantime, Edward has showered and changed and meets Carlisle out in the woods behind the house. Carlisle looks over Edward critically.

"How are you feeling, Son?"

"Somewhat better, I definitely need to feed to heal completely, though."

"That's not entirely what I meant and you know it." Carlisle tells him.

Edward can't look Carlisle in the eyes, they take off towards the mountains first before Edward answers.

"I feel lost, confused, angry, ashamed, and I blame myself for what is happening between Emmett and Alexis." Edward finally says.

"Why do you feel this way? I mean I'm not going to lie to you Edward, you'd know it anyway, you are to blame for what you did to Emmett. Manipulating him into leaving his mate, but there is nothing you can do to fix that situation. Emmett must earn Alexis' trust on his own. I want to know why you feel lost, confused and angry? I assume you feel ashamed for attacking Alexis."

"Yes I do feel ashamed for that. I let my emotions get the better of me when Alexis was only defending Bella. A trait I have always admired in her. But I feel lost and confused because Bella isn't the same anymore and I don't know what to do."

"I thought you wanted her to live her life as if you didn't exist." Carlisle points out.

"I thought I did too, but now that my wish has been granted I can't live with it. I want Bella back, the old Bella." Edward states.

"Why, so you can have her completely dependant on you again? So you can control her? That's not love, Edward that's obsession, and I hate to say it but what you and Bella had was borderline obsessive for each other. Love is an equal partnership but you controlled everything about your relationship and you know it." Carlisle points out.

"So what do I do?"

"Well, there is no getting the old Bella back, she's happy the way she is. What you need to do is start a friendship with her, and I mean a real friendship. Get to know this new Bella, what she likes what she doesn't like. Who her friends are, and if they are the wolf, you have to accept them. You are no one in her life to be ordering her to choose between you or them. Or you might find yourself on the losing end."

"Do you think it could work and I can win her back?" Edward asks with a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Maybe, it couldn't hurt, but don't get your hopes up. You may have to learn to be content with just being her friend."


	3. Change Is Not Always Bad

Sunday night Samantha and Alexis drove back to U. W. alone. They talked about how Alexis was still in love with Emmett and that she would never be able to move from him. That the mating bond was just too strong, Samantha gave her friend a sympathetic look.

"Then why don't you try to work things out with Emmett?"

"I can't, Sam, I don't trust him anymore. He's shown me that I am not the most important person to him and that is not the Lycan way. You'll have to understand that too when you turn. Your mate is everything, nothing and no one is above your mate."

"Maybe he didn't understand that at the time?" Samantha points out.

"Rosalie did, she put you above her family and that was the right thing to do."

"That's just Rose being selfish, she wants what she want, damn everyone else." Samantha says with a laugh.

Alexis smiles, "That's how mates are, you're lucky, Sammy"

"So what are you going to do?" Samantha asks.

"I don't know, I'll ask Ambrus see if he knows of a way to shut off these feeling I have so I can lead a semi- normal life. The worst part is that Alice insists that we are going to end up together anyway and I don't see that happening."

In the meantime Emmett and Rosalie are also on their way up to school, and Emmett is telling Rosalie about what Alice had told him and of his plan to ask Ambrus for help. He knows its a long shot but he has to try.

"Honestly, Em, I think it might work. Ambrus only wants to see Alexis happy and he already knows that you are her happiness. So he may be willing to get you some advice as to what to do to win her back."

"I hope so, Rose, because I'm lost. I don't know what to do to earn her trust back."

"We'll find a way." Rosalie assured him.

The next day when classes started Alexis sought out Ambrus.

"Why hello, Pup, did you have a nice Spring Break?"

Alexis gave him a strained smile, "It was fine, except for a few incidences."

Ambrus' brow furrowed, "What happened, Pup?"

"I'll tell you after class."

Their class seemed to drag on, but once it finally ended, Ambrus and Alexis bolted for the exit. The kept walking while Alexis kept ringing her hands. Ambrus watched her from the corner of his eye until he couldn't take it anymore.

"Pup, stop, what happened, it cannot possibly be that bad. Here sit down, gather your thoughts and tell me what happened."

Alexis sat down on the bench, and took a deep breath, then she launched into her explanation about what had happened that past weekend. That Edward was harassing Bella and that he attacked her. Upon hearing this, Ambrus growled menacingly.

"Oh you don't have to worry, Ambrus, I bit his arm off at the shoulder."

This caused Ambrus to laugh, "So what's the problem?" He asks.

The problem was I didn't get to finish the job because I was tackled by Emmett, we rolled down into a valley and he wouldn't let me get to Edward. Then it happened. He told me to kill him because he couldn't live without me anymore. Emmett got down on his knees and wait for me to tear him apart."

"So what did you do?"

"I left him there. I swear I had the perfect opportunity and I couldn't do it. My heart started to ache at the thought of his death and I realized that I'm still in love with him. I felt so much love and sorrow looking at him, Ambrus, that the only thought that occurred to me was to run. Emmett asked me to come back to him, but I can't. What am I going to do, Ambrus, help me!"

Ambrus sighs, he gives Alexis a hug and kisses he forehead, "I will do everything I can that is in your best interest, Pup. Sometimes you may not like it, but always remember that I am always looking out for you.

Meanwhile back in Forks:

Bella is at lunch with her friends, Mike, Jessica, Eric and Angela. She is laughing and having a great time, when the remaining Cullens walk in. The conversation at the table stops. Bella looks around to wonder what happened.

"What's going on?" She asks

"The Cullens are back," Jessica says as she watches Jasper, Alice and Edward walk towards their usual table.

"Oh yeah I know, Alice called me and told me they'd be back in school." Bella says nonchalantly.

"And you're not going to go join them?" Mike asks.

"No, why?"

"Well at the beginning of the year you were attached at the hip with Edward so I thought you'd join him."

"Well you thought wrong, Edward and I broke up, remember, Jes, I have nothing to do with him anymore."

"So then you wouldn't mind if someone else went after him?" Jessica asks slyly.

"Go for it."

Meanwhile at the Cullen table Edward is dying by what he can hear, she really doesn't care for him like she once did. She really has changed, from what he can tell in the minds of the others. Edward was definitely going to have do as Carlisle suggested and get to know her all over again.

Suddenly Alice stands up, "Come on."

"Come on where?" Jasper asks, while Edward shakes his head no.

"We need to start somewhere, Edward. Alice tells him, "So let's go sit with Bella."

Edward reluctantly gets up and follows Alice and Jasper."

"Hi, can we sit here?" Alice asks.

The group goes quiet for a moment until Angela speaks up, "Of course the more the merrier."

The group makes room for the Cullens and Edward goes to sit next to Bella but Alice beats him to it, leaving him to sit next to Mike. Bella hugs Alice and tells both Jasper and Alice she's glad their back, but she completely ignores Edward.

As lunch continues, Edward is staring at Bella until Alice tells him to knock it off it looks creepy. He gets angry but a wave of calm hit him. Instead Edward settles back and observes Bella's interaction with the rest of the group.

He finds that she's participates more and has more confidence in herself to voice her opinions, which is something that he finds very attractive.

'She's grown up.' Edward thinks.

In the short time that he was away she has definitely done a lot of growing, she's not the naive scared girl he met but a mature confident young woman. Edward can see that now. Suddenly he is brought out of his thought by Alice.

"Hey, why don't we all go to the movies together." She suggests.

The others hesitate at first but when Bella says she's in the others decide to join in too. They'll all go to Port Angeles to watch whatever is showing.

"And I'll call Jake to meet us there." Bella adds. Much to Alice's shock, but the others agree.

They had all gotten to know Jacob Black very well and liked him a lot. And since he was Bella's best friend they knew he would be coming along.

Things with Jacob and Bella were great, ever since New Years when Jake talked to Ambrus about being only friends with Bella things couldn't be better. There was no more tension between them now that Jacob had accepted that Bella was not his imprint and could accept her as she wanted him, as a best friend nothing more.

It was Edward who was going to have the hard time, he didn't trust the wolves to be around Bella, but he knew that if he interfered he would ruin his chances forever, so he would keep his thoughts and opinons to himself that night.

It turned out that Edward had nothing to worry about, that night he discovered that Jacob was over his little crush on Bella and only saw her as a sister, and that amazingly his time with Rosalie had changed his mind about the Cullens, well except him and Emmett, but that was to be expected. Overall they had a really nice time even though Edward was ignored by everyone except Jessica, who was trying subtly to get him to ask her out.

When Alice Jasper and Edward got home Alice turns to Edward, "There I've laid down the groundwork now it's up to you to get Bella to talk to you."

With that, her and Jasper went hunting. 


	4. The Long Road to Forgiveness

It had been several weeks and Emmett had still not gotten up the courage to talk to Ambrus about Alexis. Though Ambrus had a pretty good idea that Emmett wanted to talk to him. He had seen several time Emmett approach him only to veer off at the last second and go somewhere else, normally about the time that Alexis would show up. So instead of Ambrus waiting for Emmett to come talk to him, Ambrus confronted Emmett.

"You want to talk with me Day Walker?" Ambrus asks as he steps up next to Emmett the minute he comes out of class. Emmett is startled, not having heard Ambrus approach him in the first place.

"What makes you think that, Ambrus?"

"I have seen you several times approach me but then leave when you notice the Pup is with me. We are alone now, so speak your mind, Emmett."

Emmett stops him and looks into Ambrus' blue eyes, "You swear this won't get back to Lexie?"

"I swear that this conversation goes no further than the two of us."

"I need your help getting Lexie back." Emmett tells Ambrus.

Ambrus throws his head back and laughs, "What makes you think that I'll help you get the Pup back? I told you, you are unworthy of her."

"I know I'm not worthy, Ambrus, but I love her with all of my heart and soul, and I need her. And I know she loves me, I felt it when she was in her Lycan form. But I also felt her mistrust, she doesn't trust me as far as she can throw me."

"That's right, she doesn't, she has no reason to. You threw her trust away, and trust is a big thing to a Lycan, especially among mates."

"I didn't know." Emmett said.

"I know you didn't, Day Walker. There are things you must understand, Emmett, Lycans are not like Werewolves, you know this, but what you do not know is that we share a mental bond with our pack mates. We do not communicate like the shapeshifters do, what we share is our own past, our memories with each other so that we have a deeper understanding and trust in each other. This is why trust is so important to us."

"When Lycans mate you share your most intimate thoughts and memories with each other and the trust and understanding only grows. The only person who will ever know you that well is your pack leader for he receives all of your memories."

"But as I was saying, with those intimate thoughts and memories your trust and emotional bonds build. You two had not mated yet somehow you were able to make an emotional connection with her in her Lycan form. Which leads me to think that she had great deal of trust in you to let you in, and by what you and she have told me, you still have that bond. Meaning, Emmett, whether she admits it or not, somewhere buried deep inside, she still trusts you. That she loves you is a given, we both know that. It is the trust you must get back, that is the most important thing."

Emmett nods, "Okay her trust how do I get her trust back?"

"You need to earn her friendship back, you need to be completely honest with her but do not push her. And above all you must protect her pack, namely Bella and Charlie. If she sees that you will lay down your life for her pack, She will definitely start trusting you again and maybe, maybe take you back." Ambrus explains

"Alright, Ambrus, I can do that. I'll do whatever it takes to get my baby back." Emmett tells him.

"Good man."

Meanwhile:

It is once again lunch time at Forks High School and Everyone is talking about Jessica's Valedictorian speech.

"It has to be better than last year's speech. I mean last year, everyone cried." Jessica says.

"Well, yeah, my cousin gave it, but don't worry, Jess, your speech is going to rock." Bella tells her.

"Rock? It'll change lives." Jessica says in a smug tone, Bella just rolls her eyes.

Weeks had passed and Bella had yet to say two words to Edward yet he followed her around like a lost puppy at school. The good thing was he was no longer being all creepy and spying on her at night, mostly because Bella locks her bedroom window and partly because Edward finally realized how creepy that looked through the mind of someone else when Alice followed him one night.

As they all sat around the lunch table Alice suddenly announces that she has decided to throw a graduation party, Edward groans.

"Another party, Alice?"

"Yes, it'll be fun and just like last time Alexis and Emmett will be there so there won't be any problems."

Bella sighs at the thought of her cousin being there, "I think it's a great idea, I'm in."

"Yeah me too," Angela adds.

"I've never seen your house." Jessica says.

"No one has, Jess."

Just then, Alice grows quiet and she get this vacant look on her face. Bella immediately starts talking to Angela about helping her with her invitations so no one will notice.

After school, Alice calls Emmett and Rosalie and tells them that they need to come home that weekend because of Victoria. While Edward is going to try to convince Bella to use the plane tickets that Carlisle and Esme got her to go to Jacksonville.

"So he's going to try trick her into leaving, that's a bad idea." Emmett tells Alice.

"Well what do you suggest?"

At that moment Emmett sees Ambrus and Alexis walking by and gets an idea.

"I'll call you right back."

Emmett hangs up and jogs over to Alexis, "Lexie!"

Alexis turns around and her heart rate increases at the sight of Emmett jogging towards them. She scolds herself for her reaction and calms her heart, but it was too late, Emmett had already heard. He didn't say anything though.

"Is there something you needed, Emmett?" Alexis says coldly.

"Not me, Bella. I just got a call from Alice, she said that Victoria is going to be in the area this weekend and that we were going to try to catch her and kill her."

Ambrus and Alexis looked at each other, "We're in."

"Well, that's not what I was thinking, Edward is going to try to get Bella to go to Jacksonville to see her mom, and he's going to try to weasel his way into going."

"And you thought it would be better for me to go instead, that's a great idea, Emmett. I'll tell Bella the truth, we'll go visit my aunt and have a wonderful time." Alexis says.

"Then I will help hunt down this female." Ambrus says.

"Well that won't be necessary, why don't you go with the girls, and we'll handle it." Emmett suggests.

Ambrus and Alexis look at each other, "I think that's a great idea Bella you, me in Florida for the weekend, why not?" Alexis tells Ambrus, "The Vamps and the shapeshifters can supposedly handle this."

"Gee, thanks a lot" Emmett says sarcastically.

"You're welcome." Alexis responds unconsciously.

It had been weeks and very slowly, with tiny baby steps, Emmett was trying to become friends with Alexis again. And it was working, she didn't trust him but she was at least civil to him. That was the first time she responded playfully to him.  
He smiles at her, but Alexis only looks away and clears her throat.

"I'll, uh, I'll talk to Bella and my uncle myself and make arrangements to take Bella to Florida and have my uncle stay on the Reservation."

"Okay, I'll tell the others." Emmett says.

Very quickly Emmett's eyes shift to Ambrus, who slightly smiles and gives Emmett a little nod. Emmett was making some progress.


	5. A Visit to Jacksonville

Alexis looks between Emmett and Ambrus suspiciously, her eyes narrow. What were these two up to? She decides to let it go, grabbing Ambrus's hand she took off back to her dorm. Once she got there she got on her phone and called Bella.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Little Cousin."

"Lexie! To what do I owe this call?"

"Well, a muscle bound bird told me your stalker is trying to convince you to go to Jacksonville this weekend."

"No way, you're talking to Emmett again?!"

"I am not! He just came over to Ambrus and me to let me know what was going on."

"And what's going on?"

"According to Emmett, Alice had a vision today that Victoria was going to be in the area this weekend and Edward is trying to get you to leave town so you won't be in danger."

"He did mention that the airline tickets that Carlisle and Esme got me were going to expire soon." Bella tells her cousin.

"Well then you can't let a good birthday present go to waste now can you?"

"Yeah, but if I'm here I could help with Victoria" Bella offers.

"No you really couldn't, you'll only be in the way, tell you what I'll use the companion ticket and Ambrus will buy one and we'll both come down to Florida." Alexis suggests.

"Really that would be awesome."

"And that will drive your stalker up the wall, I bet he was hoping you would ask him to go with you."

Bella and Alexis both laugh, "Yeah right." They say in unison.

"How's that going, by the way?" Alexis asks.

"He follows me around like a lost puppy, but he's not stalking me at night anymore. I can't believe I used to like that, what was wrong with me?" But he hasn't said anything about me hanging out with Jacob and the pack so that's a good thing, he isn't calling me, he's stopped staring at me during class. I think he's becoming less obsessed."

"That's good."

"Yeah it is, maybe we can actually become friends for once." Bella tells her cousin.

"Do you want to be friends with him?"

"Yeah it would be nice for a change. What about you and Emmett?"

"There's nothing going on."

Bella hesitated for a second, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, look, Bella, I may still love Emmett and he may essentially be my mate, but that's not enough. He betrayed me, he chose his brother over his mate, he destroyed my trust. And to a Lycan trust between mates is vital, without trust everything else means nothing."

"Could he earn your trust back?" Bella asks.

"I don't know, probably not, why do you ask?"

"Because you deserve to be happy and I know that Emmett makes you happy."

"Yeah, he did, once." Alexis says with a sigh.

"And now?"

"He just causes me pain and confusion and loneliness. I hate to admit it, but I miss him, but I don't trust him and it kills me."

"I'm sorry this is happening to you, Lexie." Bella says in a sad voice.

"Thank you, Bella, me too. But enough talk about that, Ambrus and I will meet you Thursday afternoon after class. I'm sure my mom and Uncle Charlie won't mind you missing Friday and Monday. Ambrus and I don't have class on Friday or Monday morning so this will work out fine."

"Okay then, I'll start packing for the weekend right now." Bella says.

"Alright so, then we'll see you soon, bye."

With that, the cousins hang up.

On Thursday at 2am, Ambrus and Alexis met Bella at the airport, Charlie dropped her off and asked the two Lycans to take very good care of her. He had been informed about what was going on and was going to spend the entire weekend with Liz and Billy in La Push.

"You don't have to worry, Uncle Charlie, Bella is in good hands." Alexis tells her Uncle.

"Yes, we will watch over her with our lives," Ambrus adds.

"So, Billy tells me the plan is that while you're in Florida, the Cullens and the pack will hunt down this Victoria person, right?"

"Yes."

"And Billy says that she's the one responsible for Harry Clearwater's death, is that right?"

"From what Bella told me, yes." Alexis confirms.

"Well I hope they catch her and tear her apart." Charlie says bitterly.

Ambrus and Alexis look at each other, Charlie notices the looks."

"From the look on your faces you don't seem very confident they'll catch her."

Ambrus clears his throat, "No I am not, she has a talent for escaping and the shapeshifter and Cullens are enemies, well aside from Rosalie and Jacob. They will not coordinate, I think she will easily slip between them."

"How can you be so sure, Ambrus?" Charlie asks.

"I am 700 years old, I have fought many Vampires, I know their tricks. It also seems that this Victoria is fast and neither the shapeshifters nor the Cullens are fast enough, with maybe the exception of Edward, but he is no fighter. Hopefully they will catch her, but I doubt it."

Alexis notices the time and informs the others that it's time to board their flight. Ambrus, Bella, and Alexis get on the plane to Jacksonville. It took 6 hours and 45 minutes to arrive, when they did they're greeted by Renee and Phil by the luggage carousel.

Renee couldn't have been more thrilled to have her daughter and niece stay with her the weekend, though she was surprised when she got the call telling her that there would be a young man joining them. Renee assumed it would be Edward, but by the description that her daughter had given her this was definitely not him.

Setting aside the sight of the tall blonde man that was with her girls, Renee rushed over and enveloped Bella in a bear hug.

"Oh my baby, it's so good to see you again! Oh let me look at you."

Renee held Bella at arms length and stared at her, then she smiled.

"Well gone is the clumsy insecure little girl I sent to Forks, he stand a beautiful confident young woman. I guess Forks was good for you after all."

Renee says and embraces Bella one more time. She suddenly grabs Alexis and pulls her into a hug.

"And you look even more beautiful than the last time I saw you, I guess college is agreeing with you."

Alexis smiles and hugs her back, "Yes it is Renee, things are going very well."

"Would that blonde hunk have anything to do about it?" Renee asks.

Alexis rolls her eyes, "No Renee he's just a friend."

With that Alexis walks over to Ambrus and leads him over to Renee and Phil.

"Ambrus, this is my aunt Renee and her husband Phil, Renee this is Ambrus Kóbor one of my best friends."

Ambrus smiles as he shakes Renee and Phil's hands, "It's a pleasure to meet both of you."

"The pleasure is ours, Ambrus, are you sure that you and Lexie aren't dating?

"Aunt Renee!"

What, just want to make sure you two don't want to share a room." Renee says with a cheeky grin.

"The sofa will be just fine, ma'am. Alexis and I are only friends, good friends.

"Why don't Lexie and I share a room and Ambrus can have the spare." Bella points out.

"Yeah it will just like when we were younger." Alexis says.

With the arrangements made the three young people grab their luggage and follow Renee and Phil out into the hot Florida sun.

They arrive at Renee and Phil's modest home that is situated and each head to their room to change into light summer clothes. Alexis changes into a light summer dress and sandals while Ambrus changes into tan linen pants and a white linen shirt. The two Lycans are ready to go exploring but Bella it turns out is too tired from the trip and wants to take a quick nap. So the the Lycans decide to take the opportunity and walk along the beach, they let Renee know what their plans are she said that she'll have lunch ready by the time they get back.

Ambrus thought that this might be the perfect opportunity to talk to Alexis about Emmett. He had been paying very close attention to Emmett since he had come back and Ambrus had come to the conclusion that yes he was very repentant for what he had done and yes, he may actually deserve a second chance. Not really for Emmett's sake, but for Alexis.

Ambrus knows that Alexis needs her mate and whether she will admit it or not she wants Emmett back. He has seen the longing in her eyes whenever she gets a glimpse of Emmett, but it quickly replaced with self loathing for being weak. Ambrus has to convince her that Emmett is worthy of at least an attempt at starting a friendship with him again.

Ambrus and Alexis leave Renee's house and walk along the beach, they remove their shoes and walk along the shoreline watching the surfers ride the waves and enjoying the cool salty breeze. Neither of them say anything, they just enjoy each others company. As they walk Alexis takes Ambrus by the arm and leans into him.

She sighs, "This is so perfect, Ambrus, why couldn't you be my mate?"

"Believe me, Pup, I have asked myself the same thing, but it was not meant to be. Besides you have your mate."

"No, I don't, Ambrus and you know that."

"Yes, you do, Pup, you have a mate that loves you very much and would do anything to be with you again, if you would only give him a chance."

Alexis stops and looks at Ambrus, "I can't, Ambrus, I just can't."

"Why?"

"I can't risk giving my heart and trust to Emmett and having him rip them apart again, if it hadn't have been for you I wouldn't have survived his betrayal, Ambrus."

"He will not do it again, Alexis."

"How do you know?"

"Because, He knows what it is that he has lost and he is not willing to give it up again. When you transformed this last time, Emmett told me he felt your love for him. He knows you love him, but he know you do not trust him either. That is why he is willing to do anything to regain your trust, why do you think he told us about Alice's vision and Edward's plans, he wants you to trust him. Give him the opportunity, Pup, with what he has done for Bella I think he has earned it."

Alexis and Ambrus continued to walk on in silence, she thought over everything that Ambrus had told her. Could she give Emmett a second chance? She did miss him terribly, maybe they could be friends and work their way from there. It was worth a shot, with her decision made she turns to Ambrus.

"Alright, I'll give him a chance to be my friend, but if he breaks my heart again…"

"I will personally rip him apart and burn the pieces, Pup." Ambrus assures her.

"Thank you, Ambrus."

Ambrus hugs Alexis and kisses her forehead, "Anytime, Pup, now let us return for lunch, yes?"

Alexis nods, "Yes."

When they arrive Renee is giving Bella a quilt made out of their old trip t-shirts, so she will have something to remember her by when she goes to Alaska for college.

"Oh my thank you, but I'm not going to Alaska anymore, Edward and I are through." Bella explains.

"You are, since when?" Renee asks.

"Since he left me in the woods…"

Bella goes on to explain that Edward told her he didn't want her and left her alone in the wood and that she fell into a deep depression, but that she got help and now she sees that their relationship was all wrong from the beginning.

"We were to obsessed with each other mom, and I can't have something so self destructive in my life anymore. So next year I'm going to either UW like Lexie or somewhere back East, I haven't decided."

What about Edward? Renee asks.

"He's still there, trying to earn his way back into my heart. To be honest, I'd like to go back with him if he wasn't so obsessive and controlling and until he can prove that he has changed I won't give him the time of day."

"Good for you Bella." Renee tells her.

After that they go inside and have lunch, later that night they head on down to the theatre to watch a movie and the next day the were going to go exploring.

**Meanwhile In Forks:**

The Cullens are spread out in the forest trying to cover as much area as they can, waiting for Victoria to show up.

"You sure this is where you saw her?" Jasper asks.

"She's almost here," Alice confirms

Alice spins and looks at Emmett, "On your left!"

Emmett explodes to his left, Rosalie right behind him. Jasper and Carlisle go wide, looking to cut Victoria off, Esme and Alice following up the rear. Victoria racing through the trees, tense but not afraid. Escaping is what she's good at. She reaches a ravine, she doesn't break stride, just leaps across it. Carlisle pulls up short, yells to Emmett and Rosalie.

Wait. She's in their territory. Carlisle informs them.

"She'll get away," Rosalie yells.

"No she won't," Jasper tells her.

On the other side of the ravine, three giant wolves leap onto the scene and take up the chase after Victoria. Sam in the lead in his enormous black wolf form. A parallel chase ensues, the wolves and the Cullens keeping to their sides of the ravine, which she realize is the line that demarcates the territories, Victoria leaps back over.

"All ours now, " Emmett says as he races off after her.

Emmett grabs hold of her shoulders and hair. They roll head over heel, Victoria uses the momentum to her advantage and flings Emmett off and over her into a tree.

"Emmett don't!" Esme yells

But Emmett seeing red flies over the ravine. The second his feet hit the other side, Paul in his wolf form tackles Emmett hitting him in the chest and sending him flying into the water. Emmett gets up and growls at Paul who is also growling and foaming at the mouth.

At the same time in Florida Bella Ambrus and Alexis are just coming out of the theatre. They are laughing and having a good time when suddenly Alexis gasps and reaches for her heart. She grabs Ambrus arm with her other hand as her leg give out. Quickly, Ambrus supports Alexis' weight and leads her to a park bench across the street in order to sit, Bella following behind with a worried look on her face.

Alexis is gasping for air, as she clutches at her heart, Ambrus looks on worried, he can not understand what is going on, he wipes the sweat from Alexis' brow.

"Pup, what's the matter, what has happened?"

"Emmett," Alexis says through gritted teeth.

Understanding dawns on Ambrus. Emmett must be in danger and Alexis is feeling it. Their mate bond has grown even without them being together.

"Let me call Rosalie, Pup, she will know if he is well."

By this time the Cullens have gone back home defeated, Emmett has gone upstairs to shower and change. Rosalie is downstairs when her phone rings, she is surprised to see the name on her caller ID.

"Ambrus?"

"Rosalie, how are you?"

"Good, is something the matter you sound agitated."

"Yes there is, it's the Pup."

"What's wrong with Lexie?"

At hearing her name, Emmett leaps out of the shower, he dries and dresses in record time and is downstairs sitting next to Rosalie in no time flat.

"What, what, what's going on with Lexie?" He asks desperately.

Rosalie tells him to shut up so Ambrus can talk.

"Was Emmett hurt in any way this evening." Ambrus asks.

"No, well he did get into an altercation with one of the wolves, Paul I think it was. He was shoved off the ravine and landed in the river, but he wasn't hurt, pissed but not hurt."

Ambrus muffles the phone, "He's alright, Pup, just an altercation with a shapeshifter, nothing to worry about."

Of course Rosalie and Emmett heard the whole thing, Emmett eyes widen, Alexis was worried about him, she felt him in danger. That could only mean one thing, the mate bond was getting stronger. She was finally able to feel him now.

There was a quiet shuffle on the phone, then Rosalie heard Alexis' voice.

"Rose, is he really okay," She asked weakly.

"He's fine, Lexie, do you want to talk to him?"

There was a long pause, "Okay."

Rosalie hands Emmett the phone, he so excited he nearly drops its.

"Lexie?"

"You're okay?" She asks.

"Perfectly fine, that mutt can't do anything to me." Emmett says but he's worried about the mild tone that Lexie is using.

There's a long pregnant pause.

"Hello, Lexie are you there?"

"I'm glad you're okay."

And with that she hung up.

Emmett stared at the phone for a while then a smile crossed his face, he suddenly jumped up and pumped his fists.

"YES!"

"What, son." Carlisle asks.

"The mate bond is back and stronger than ever, she can feel me now, which means…"

"Which means, she's giving you another chance," Rosalie finished.

She stands up and hugs her brother.

"Thank you, Ambrus!" Emmett yells.


	6. An Awkward Situation

After hearing Emmett's voice the pain in Alexis' heart went away, now that she knew he was safe everything was fine. Ambrus and Bella still looked a little worried, though.

"Are you alright now, Pup?"

"Yeah, damn it, the mate bond is stronger since I decided to be friends with Emmett again."

"You decided to be friends with Emmett, that's great!" Bella says.

"We'll see if it's great or not, when we get back but for now how about some Italian for dinner." Alexis asks as if nothing is wrong.

Ambrus and Bella look at each other, they shrug and follow Alexis to an Italian restaurant down the street.

The next few days are filled with them doing a lot of sightseeing around Jacksonville. The of course check out the beach and try their hand at surfing, then they go to the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, then check out Amelia Island, They go to the downtown river walk and look at Friendship Fountain and of course Ambrus has fake I.D.'s for the girls so they go clubbing. All in all they had a very nice weekend, but come Monday morning they were ready to go back to Washington. The girls said goodbye to Renee, then she and Bella had a nice mother daughter moment while Ambrus and Alexis waited.

Ambrus then says his goodbye's and thanks both Renee and Phil for their hospitality and from there they board the plane back to Seattle. They arrive in Seattle at 6 in the morning and hang around with Bella until it was time for her to take the smaller plane to Port Angeles. Charlie wasn't going to be able to come up to Seattle this time so this was the alternative. Once she boarded her flight Ambrus and Alexis got took a cab back to campus. They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Alexis to her dorm and Ambrus to his apartment.

When she got into her dorm Samantha was still asleep, she very carefully closed the door and went to her bed.

"So you forgave Emmett, huh?" Samantha says.

"I didn't forgive him I decided I'd give him a chance to be friends."

"Yeah, you forgave him."

"What makes you say that," Alexis asks her best friend.

"Rosalie told me what happened, Emmett is on cloud nine after talking to you."

"He is?"

"Yep."

"Hmm." Was all Alexis said

She changed got in bed and slept until her afternoon classes.

She and Samantha get up and get ready for their afternoon classes, they go downstairs to meet Ambrus and Rosalie for lunch before heading off to class, this time though, someone else is with them.

Alexis spots Emmett before he sees her and stops right in her tracks, she's not sure she can talk to him just yet, but Samantha grabs her arm.

"Just let him join us, you don't have to talk to him. You can do this, Lexie, you can treat him as a friend."

Alexis swallows hard, "I can do this."

She takes a deep breath, takes Samantha by the hand and walks over towards the others. She immediately goes and stands beside Ambrus, more like hides behind him.

"Hi everyone, let's go to lunch, Lexie and I have lab this afternoon and Ambrus has clinicals, so we need to hurry." Samantha tells them.

They all agree and walk towards the Café. Rosalie holding hands with Samantha while Ambrus is in between Emmett and Alexis. Everyone went to sit down and Alexis made sure that Ambrus was always between her and Emmett. She may be willing to give him a chance, but that didn't mean she was comfortable being close to him yet.

Emmett on the other hand was just happy to be in the same room with his mate, it calms him in a way that nothing else does. He knows that he's got his work cut out for him and that more than likely Lexie won't speak with him yet, but Emmett doesn't care. At this point, he'll do whatever it takes to earn her trust back and if that means starting from the bottom and just being friends, he's willing to do that.

The waiter comes over and takes everyone's order, of course Alexis and Ambrus order the most food due to their metabolism. Emmett smiles at the sight of Alexis eating, he misses the little thing like this. Once they had lunch, Emmett pays for everyone, much to the Lycan's protest, and they head out, each in their own direction.

Rosalie walks away with Emmett, while the other three head off to the health and science building. Rosalie walks in silence for a while just staring at Emmett, he has this wide grin on his face and a lightness in his step.

"Alright, why are you so happy?" Rosalie finally asks.

"Because I got to be with my mate and it's the most calm I've felt in a long time." Emmett tells her.

"You didn't even talk to her."

"Doesn't matter, just being near her is enough right now. I know that eventually she'll talk to me, it's only a matter of time. I just have be patient."

But patience was not one of Emmett's virtues, it was something he had to desperately work on. There were time where he just wanted to take Alexis in his arms and kiss her senseless. But he would catch himself and have to leave the room. Little did he know that when Emmett would leave, Alexis' eyes would follow him. She too longed to be with him, but she still didn't trust him.

"This can't go on, Ambrus." Alexis tells her Lycan friend one night as they walk back from the library.

"What can't go on, Pup."

"How things are with Emmett, I hide behind you from him like a scared rabbit. Afraid to even ackowledge his presence. How is that giving him a chance?"

"I agree, Pup, it isn't. You have to try to at least talk with him, start with idle conversation. If you have to talk about the weather, anything to break the ice."

"You're right, you're absolutely right. I can do this, I can talk to this man about something completely irrelevent."

So the next day while they were having lunch as usual, Ambrus forces Alexis to sit next to Emmett. She sat there nervously twiddling her thumbs while Emmett talked with Rosalie about how things were going in his Pre-Law classes, but inside Emmett was just as nervous. When Alexis sat down next to him, his dead heart nearly burst, he felt this warm sensation run through his chest at being so close to his mate and yet not close enough. Emmett couldn't help himself, he turned and gave Alexis his best dimpled smile, which caused Alexis' breath to hitch. Emmett's smile grew at her reaction.

Alexis closes her eyes, then clears her throat, "So, Emmett, how have you been?"

Emmett couldn't believe she had just spoken to him, he sat there dumbfounded for a moment, until his voice returned.

"Oh, I'm okay, Lexie, thank you. And you how have you been?"

"Good, good, studying hard trying to pass all my classes, you know how it is."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I heard that you're still tripling up on classes, is that true?" Emmett asks.

"Yeah, I want to see if I can cut this down to two years instead of four. And you know with being what I am I don't need that much sleep so I can go a lot longer."  
Alexis explains.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, you won't burn out?" Emmett asks.

"No it's fine, things are going fine. And you how are your classes?"

"Great, I really love my law classes, this is definitely something new for me to study so I'm going to take my time and study it thoroughly."

"Oh well that's good." Alexis says then stares at her hands.

There was a strained silence between them as the other continued to talk amongst themselves and ignore them. Alexis sighs, she looks around and make eye contact with Ambrus who encourages her to continue.

"Nice weather we're having."

"Yeah it's been great, nice and cloudy, Alice called and said that it's going to be like this for the rest of the month so Rose and I have nothing to worry about."

"Well that's good." Alexis tells him then goes back to her meal.

Once they finish, they all get up to go their separate ways again, Alexis taps Emmett on the shoulder, and smiles at him when he turns around.

"It was nice talking to you, Emmett," Alexis says.

"Yeah, you too, maybe we can talk again some other time." Emmett says eagerly.

"Yeah maybe." Alexis says as she walks off.

Emmett watches her go then turns to Rose, "Yes, we have first contact."  



	7. The Intruder

While Emmett and Alexis are making a little headway into becoming friends, back in Forks there are signs of trouble. Bella had been spending a great deal of time with Alice and Jacob, it had been a few days since she had come back from Jacksonville and she had made plans to spend the day with Jacob and have a sleepover with Alice that night. So when she got home, Alice arrived shortly after.

"Hi Bella!"

But Alice's face falls as soon as she picked up an odd scent.

"I know I'm sorry I must smell like a dog."

"No that's not it, someone's been here." Alice says

Alice flies up the stairs to Bella's room, she sniffs around, she confirms that someone definitely unknown has been in her room.

"We, need to tell the others. We need Jasper to come track this." Alice tells her.  
She immediately gets on her phone and calls her mate. Jasper is there in a flash, he knocks on Bella's door, Charlie answers.

"Evening, Chief Swan." Jasper says politely

"Evening, Jasper, the girls are upstairs if you need to talk with Alice."

"There's something a little bit more serious going on here, sir, you might want to call your sister." Jasper explains.

"What do you mean?"

"It would appear that a Vampire came into your house this evening while you were home."

"Let me call Liz."

Elizabeth had just gotten home when she got the call from Charlie that he needed her to come over. She hopped the fence and entered the house, Liz was immediately assaulted by the smell of an unknown Vampire.

She rushes to her brother, "Charlie are you alright?"

"Yeah, Jasper just told me that Alice picked up the scent of an unknown Vampire in the house and I was taking a nap on the sofa and heard nothing, Liz."

Elizabeth turns to look at Jasper, and Alice, "And you two have never smelled this Vampire before?"

"No Mrs. Hale we haven't, we were wondering if maybe you could pick up anything else?"

Liz follows the scent upstairs to Bella's room, and sniffs around. She picks up the dream catcher, closes her eyes and inhales deeply. When she opens her eyes they glowing yellow.

"It's a male vampire, recently turned, I can still smell the human blood in his veins. He couldn't be more than twenty years old, and he's blonde."

"You got that from his scent?" Jasper asks.

No, silly boy, my eyes see better than yours, a small strand of hair came off his head when he bent over Bella's bed."

Liz reaches out and picks up a microscopic strand of hair, that even Jasper and Alice can barely see.

"We need to get going," Liz says.

"Going, Mrs. Hale?" Alice asks.

"Yes, Jasper knows what I mean, you all need to get tracking, I'll catch up."

With that Alice and Jasper take off after the scent tracking it away from Charlie and Bella's house. Meanwhile Elizabeth goes out into the forest and transforms, her senses come alive and she can smell everything. She takes off heading due South the same direction Jasper and Alice went, and catches up to them.

"The tracks ends here." Jasper points out.

"There must have been a car waiting." Alice says.

But Elizabeth continues to sniff around and picks up another scent, she picks up the scent that were on the tires, and the scent on the tires comes from Seattle. Elizabeth steps into the woods and changes.

"That car came from Seattle I can smell the saltwater from Puget Sound on the tires and the scent of the streets, so that could only mean that they'll be heading back."

Jasper and Alice look at each other, "Can you tell what kind of car it was?" Jasper asks, just to be a smartass.

"Lincoln Continental." Liz tells him, "Don't mess with me, boy."

"Yes, ma'am." Jasper says with a salute.

While Elizabeth, Jasper and Alice went searching for the intruder, Charlie and Bella go to the Cullen house where they would be safer. Edward wants desperately to be at Bella's side but he knows his presence would be unwanted. So he stands beside Carlisle, while Bella explains what happened. At that point the other three come in and tell them what they found out.

"His scent disappeared about five miles South of Chief Swan's house, apparently there was a car waiting for him. But Mrs. Hale was able to pick up the scent from the the tires that they came from Seattle." Jasper informs the others.

"Someone is orchestrating this," Edward says.

"Victoria." Carlisle asks.

"Who else could it be?" Bella asks.

"I would have seen her deciding," Alice says.

Charlie looks puzzled, "Decide, what do you mean decide?"

Alice has a gift, she can see into the future, but it is subjective to what a person decides. Many Vampires have gifts Charlie" Carlisle explains.

"Do any of the rest of you have gifts?" Charlie asks.

"I can sense and control people emotions." Jasper offers.

I can read minds, though I sometimes struggle with yours and I can't read Bella's or the Lycans unless they let me." Edward explains.

"Emmett is extraordinarily strong even for a Vampire. And Rosalie is exceptionally beautiful. Though these may not be gifts as extraordinary like Jasper, Alice and Edward, They are more enhancements that they brought over from their former lives. But back to what's at hand if it is Victoria then she is based out of Seattle and we need to inform Emmett and Rosalie of what's going on."

"We should also inform Lexie and Ambrus, they're going to want to help search the city for her, and will have better luck tracking her down." Elizabeth says.

"Two Lycans running around Seattle, wouldn't that be a little obvious?" Jasper asks.

"They don't have to be in their Lycan forms to track, Jasper, it would be faster. They could pick up that male's scent six miles away, but in human form it's about a mile." Elizabeth explains.

"In the meantime we'll take shifts guarding Charlie and Bella and we'll need the kids to come home so they can pick up the scent as well." Carlisle informs them.

"But you five can't guard my brother and niece all the time, you're going to need help, I'll call the pack to come up."

"But isn't that just Talia and Seth, aren't Derek, Laura and Cora in New York at school?" Bella asks.

"That's right, I forgot, then I'll pull Lexie out of school."

"No don't do that, Aunt Liz, why don't we just ask the Quileute pack for help?" Bella suggests.

"Yeah I'm sure Billy wouldn't mind helping us out, Liz." Charlie adds.

"I don't see why not, Bella, give Jacob a call and ask him to come over to your house tomorrow to get the scent of the Vampire. He should be able to pass it on to the rest of the pack. I'll call Lexie right now."

Liz pulls out her phone and calls her daughter.  



	8. One Step Closer

Samantha, Ambrus and Alexis are in the library studying when Alexis's phone rings, she looks at the caller I.D. and sees that it's her mother calling.

"Hi, Mom, what's going on?"

Hi, Lexie, how are classes?" Elizabeth asks.

"They're good, right now we're studying in the library… you sound weird, what's going on?" Alexis asks.

"Honey, I need for you and Ambrus to come home this weekend, there was a intruder in your uncle's house today, Jasper, Alice and I tracked the scent for five miles until they got into a car and left heading back to Seattle. Lex, it was a Vamp."

Alexis suddenly stands up, "What?!" She shouts.

"Shh." The librarian hisses.

"Sorry." Alexis sits back down.

"What is it, Pup?" Ambrus asks, he had just come back to his seat when he saw Alexis bolt to a standing position.

"There was a Vamp in my Uncle's house, you up for a visit to Forks this weekend to pick up the scent and do a little tracking?"

"Absolutely, Pup, we'll leave Friday after school, Samantha do you want to come?" Ambrus asks.

"Yeah more than likely Rosalie will be going as well, and so will Emmett."

"We should probably coordinate with Rose and Emmett when we get back to search for the intruder here in Seattle."

Ambrus immediately heard Alexis's heart begin to race, "Why, we can track them together, what do we need them for?" Alexis asks

"Alexis!" Samantha yells.

"Shh" Hisses the librarian again.

"Sorry." Samantha says.

"We will cover more ground if we coordinate with them and you know it, Pup. You know that this is more important than how you feel right now towards Emmett." Ambrus points out.

"Right, you're right, Ambrus, Bella and Uncle Charlie's safety comes first." Alexis says with a sigh.

"Right then, let us go find them and see if they received similar calls," Ambrus suggests.

They packed up their belongings and leave the library. As soon as they are outside they see Emmett and Rosalie heading in their direction, Emmett had a serious look on his face. He stops in front of Alexis.

"Did you get a call from your mom?"

"Yes we did, I'm assuming you got a similar call?

"Yeah, Carlisle called us, we're heading home this weekend to get the scent." Emmett explains.

"So are we, then I guess we'll meet you down there at Charlie's house." Alexis tells Emmett.

"I guess you will."

"Then when we get back, we will coordinate and search the city for this Vamp and see what he is up to." Ambrus adds.

Both Emmett and Rosalie nod. With that, Rosalie and Samantha head off towards Rose's apartment. The others just stand there, and watch them leave. Ambrus looks at his watch, then yawns.

"I am heading home now, Pup."

Alexis's eyes widen, and she reaches out for Ambrus but he steps out of her reach, he gives her a grin then nods towards Emmett. Alexis minutely shakes her head no, but Ambrus only smiles.

"Emmett, take the Pup and get her something to eat. She hasn't eaten all day."  
Ambrus orders with a grin.

Emmett smirks, but then hides it, "Yeah sure, Ambrus, if Lexie wants to."

Alexis narrows her eyes at Ambrus, and mouths, 'I hate you.' Causing Ambrus to almost laugh.

"Yeah, sure, I could eat." Alexis tells Emmett.

"Great, my Jeep is just down here, let's go."

Emmett places his hand on the small of Alexis's back to guide her, but he quickly removes it when she shivers at his touch. His face falls a little because of her reaction, but he doesn't realize was that she took great pleasure in feeling his touch again.

"Uh, just follow me, I guess." Emmett says as he puts his hands in his pockets and leads Alexis to his Jeep.

They get to his Jeep and Alexis gets inside. She takes a deep breath, inhaling Emmett's scent that permeates in the Jeep. She lets out a sigh, reveling in his scent. When Emmett opens his door, he hears her sigh and gives her a curious look.

"Something the matter?" He asks.

"No, just a little tired."

"We can do this another time if you're too tired."

"No, I need to eat, Ambrus was right, I haven't eaten all day and I might as well go with you unless you have something else to do."

"Nope, I don't mind taking you to get something to eat. How about a burger, you like those if I remember correctly."

"Yeah, I do, okay then let's go."

Emmett smiles at Alexis and takes off towards Seattle's U district. When they get there he parks his Jeep and they walk into Just Burgers. Going up to the counter Emmett already knows what Alexis is going to want so he goes ahead and orders for her. He orders two California burgers with curly fries and two Dr. Peppers, Alexis reaches for her wallet in her purse, but Emmett is faster and pays for their meals. She huffs at him but he just gives her a dimpled smile.

"Next time when I'm hungry you can pay." Emmett tells her.

They get their order and go sit down at the back of the restaurant where it's not so crowded.

Alexis sits down, grabbing her burger, she starts eating, Emmett happily sits there and watches her eat. He chuckles as he watches her eat, Alexis looks at Emmett with a curious gaze.

"What?" She asks.

"You still stuff your cheeks like a hamster when you eat." Emmett says with a laugh.

"I'm hungry, okay? And give me your burger since you're not going to eat it anyway."

"Why do you think I ordered it, I knew that one wasn't going to be enough for you, eat the fries too while your at it."

"Fine, Mr. Cullen, I will, and your drink too." Alexis says as she reaches across the table for Emmett's food.

Emmett throws his head back and lets out a booming laugh, "Damn, I've missed this."

Alexis swallows and giggles, "I must admit I've missed this too, I can't steal from Ambrus, he'll bite my hand off."

"Are you going to start talking to me now?" Emmett asks still chuckling.

"I might as well, if you're going to keep feeding me."

"Deal."

Alexis eats in silence for a while, she takes a sip of her drink then looks at Emmett, his eyes are beginning to turn black from the lack of feeding. She reaches out to touch his face but catches herself and pulls back.

"When was the last time you fed?" Alexis asks Emmett.

"It's been a while, I was going to going hunting this weekend, but now that this has come up."

"You can still go hunting, just do it in Forks. I don't think it will take you that long to pick up a scent, the rest of the time you could be hunting."

"What are you and Ambrus going to do?"

We need to be a little bit more thorough, so we'll probably search Uncle Charlie's house in our Lycan forms then follow the scent unless we do it the easy way and my mom bites us."

"Bite you what do you mean?" Emmett asks.

"Well, instead of going through the hassle of tracking again my mom can simply bite us and share her memories with us of that day. Pack members can do that with each other, and even though Ambrus isn't pack, he's close enough that it will work with him as well."

"Sounds painful."

"It can be, but it's worth it." Alexis says as she pops the last bit of burger into her mouth.

"You ready to go?" Emmett asks.

"Yeah, it's getting late, I have an early class tomorrow."

"Okay let's go."

With that, they throw their trash away and leave the restaurant. Getting back into Emmett's Jeep, Alexis leans her head against the window and stares out the passenger side window. She sighs thinking how much she would love to hold Emmett's hand, but it's too soon for that.

They get back to Alder Hall and Emmett parks his Jeep, he gets out and opens the passenger door for Alexis. They walk in comfortable silence up to the main doors. Right before she goes in, Alexis turns to Emmett.

"Thanks for dinner, Emmett, I had a nice time."

"Yeah me too, I hope we can do it again some time." Emmett says.

Emmett takes a step closer to Alexis, he desperately wants to kiss her, but Alexis takes one back.

"Well, goodnight."

"Night, Lexie."

Alexis ducks inside Alder Hall before Emmett can react. Emmett sighs, he turns and starts walking back to his Jeep. He suddenly hears his name being called

"Emmett wait up a second." Alexis says as she comes running up to him.

Something wrong, Lexie?"

"No, let me do this before I chicken out."

Alexis reaches up on her toes and kisses Emmett on the cheek, she turns bright red then runs back inside. Emmett stands there for a second in complete shock, he places his hand where Alexis kissed him. He can still feel her warm lips on his cool skin. A huge dimpled smile spreads across his face.

"YES!" Emmett yells then looks around to see if anyone heard him.

He happily gets in his Jeep and drives back to his apartment, the whole time he has a silly grin on his face.


	9. The Hunt

The weekend couldn't arrive fast enough for Alexis, she was worried that if they didn't find this intruder soon something bad might happen. But finally, It was Friday afternoon, Ambrus, and Alexis left for Forks. Samantha had gone ahead with Rose and Emmett. They arrived first at Alexis' house to leave their stuff, and say hello to Elizabeth. Once they were settled in they both hopped the fence and went over to Bella's house.

It turned out that Emmett and Rosalie were there as well. When Emmett saw Alexis he gave her a big dimpled smile, she shyly waved at him. Ambrus looked between the two and raises an eyebrow.

"Did I miss something?" He asks.

"Yes, I'll tell you later," Alexis tells him.

They all walk into the house together, and immediately the Lycans are assaulted by the smell of the male Vamp that was in the house. To them, the smell is still strong but they can tell it's already been a few days and to Emmett and Rosalie the smell is starting to fade.

Ambrus and Alexis allow Emmett and Rosalie to go through the house in order to get the scent of the male vampire, as it won't be necessary for them to do it. When they are finished they come back downstairs.

"Okay we have the scent, there is no way that we won't recognize it if we come across it again," Emmett tells them.

"Good now we just need Elizabeth's memories," Ambrus explains.

He then proceeds to bite Elizabeth on the neck and her memories begin to transfer over to Ambrus. When he is finished, he gently sits Elizabeth down in the chair so she can recover.

"Why did you bite Mrs. Hale," Rosalie asked.

"Because, I am not pack, I needed to bite her to get the memories. For the Pup, her mother will bite her."

Once Elizabeth had recovered, she stands up and walks over to Alexis and bites her. The memories of everything that Elizabeth had learned about the intruder flooded Alexis' mind. All the sight scents and sounds were burned into her memory. When it was over Elizabeth sat Alexis down so that she could recover from the bite.

"Alright now that we have all the information that we'll need we can begin hunting this vampire," Ambrus tells Alexis.

"Wait nobody said anything about hunting the vampire, that could be dangerous," Emmett said then looks over at his mate.

"We are not going to kill him, we are going to observe him and see what information we can get. We all know that it was no coincidence that he came into this house, we need to find out why he's after Bella and Charlie. And the best way to do that is to hunt instead of waiting for this person to strike. Waiting is bad for us, it puts us on edge giving the advantage to our enemy," Ambrus explains.

"Okay, when do you want to start," Emmett asks."

"Tomorrow night. We shall rest tonight and head back to Seattle tomorrow afternoon. We will begin our hunt in the evening."

"Alright, in the meantime, Emmett and I need to hunt. We'll be back later. Come on, Emmett," Rosalie tells her brother.

"I'll see you later, Lexie," Emmett says."

"O-okay, Emmett."

Ambrus, Charlie, Elizabeth, and Bella all stare at Alexis.

"What?"

"You stuttered, what's going on with you," Bella asked.

"Nothing."

"Are you sure this has nothing to do with your date with Emmett last night, Pup?"

"You went on a date with Emmett!" Bella squeals.

"No it was not a date, he just took me to get something to eat."

"Yeah, like I said a date. So what happened?"

"Nothing really, we started talking, I agreed that I would talk to him more often and then he took me home. And I… kissed him on the cheek."

"You what?!" Ambrus and Bella said in unison.

"I kissed him on the cheek, it was no big deal. It was just my way of thanking him for taking me out to eat."

"I knew you would forgive him eventually," Bella said with a smug look.

"I haven't forgiven him."

"You will, it's only a matter of time, now."

"I agree with Bella, Pup, this little outing shows great progress. Not to mention you can feel him now," Ambrus comments.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute, what do you mean you can feel Emmett? You mean you can feel his emotions now, since when?" Elizabeth asked.

"Since Jacksonville."

"Then you are definitely forgiving him."

"We'll see. I'm not getting my hopes up," Alexis tells her family and Ambrus.

Somewhere in the woods, Emmett has just told Rosalie what happened the night before. He was grinning from ear to ear by the time he finished telling her.

"I'm happy for you, Emmett."

"Thank you, Rose, I think last night we made some real progress. Why else would she kiss me if she wasn't starting to forgive me?"

"You could be right, Em, but you need to be cautious. I don't want you to get your hopes up and then she ends up changing her mind."

"I know, Rose, I just can't help feeling happy right now. Maybe there's hope for us after all."

"Maybe there is.

So, while Emmett and Rosalie spent the rest of the evening hunting and Ambrus, Alexis, Samantha, and Bella did their homework had pizza and watched movies.

The next afternoon, they all met up at the Hale house to discuss what they were going to do.

"Alright, I think we should split up and search the city. Since we as Lycans have the best sense of smell even in our human form I think it would be wise that we each go with one of you," Ambrus, tells Emmett and Rosalie, "I shall go with Rosalie and You, Pup, will go with Emmett."

'Like I didn't see that coming.' Alexis thought.

She looked at Emmett who had a big grin on his face and wiggled his eyebrows, causing Alexis to blush.

"Now, let's get going."

Ambrus, Alexis, and Samantha get into Alexis' car and drive off while Emmett and Rosalie follow behind in Emmett's Jeep.

Ambrus, Alexis, and Samantha drive in silence for a while with Samantha staring at her best friend. She crosses her arms and smiles.

"You're excited to be with Emmett, aren't you?"

"What gives you that idea?" Alexis says as she turns to look at Samantha.

"You're fidgeting and wringing your hands. You're either excited or nervous."

"And your heart rate has increased, Pup."

"Alright, I'm nervous about being around Emmett, can you blame me?"

"No we can't, but you need to relax and focus on what we are going to be doing tonight. Put your feelings for Emmett aside," Ambrus tells her.

Alexis takes a deep breath, "I can do this."

"Of course you can."

When they get back to school they park outside Alder Hall and Rosalie escorts Samantha inside. She comes back out and stands next to Ambrus.

"We'll split the city in half. If you find anything just observe. Get as much information as you can. Do not interfere for any reason." Ambrus tells them.

Rosalie and Ambrus take Emmett's Jeep while Emmett and Alexis take Alexis' Dodge Challenger, Alexis lets Emmett drive.

"Where do we start," Emmett asks.

"How about the warehouse district? There are a lot of abandoned buildings there."

"Okay."

They drive down to the warehouse district and get out, Alexis starts scenting the are. She almost immediately picks up the scent of the very vampire they're looking for.

"I got him."

Very carefully they start to follow the scent, staying as far back as possible. Eventually, they spot him, he's skulking around in the shadows as if looking for something. Then Alexis' ears pick up the sound of music.

"We need to get higher so he doesn't spot us," Emmett tells her.

They climb the closest building to them and watch what the vampire is doing from their vantage point. The vampire walking toward the sound of the music at human speed. Alexis and Emmett quietly leap from building to building watching his every move. It turns out that there's an underground club nearby and the vampire goes inside. Alexis and Emmett look at each other.

"Care to dance?" Emmett asks.

"I'd love to."

They get down off the building and go inside the club. Slowly they make their way around the club looking for the vampire. But it's so crowded by the bar they can't see anything.

"Let's go out on the dance floor and see if we can see him," Emmett suggests.

He takes Alexis by the hand and pulls her to the dance floor. They start dancing and at the same time keep their senses open for any sign of the vampire. At one point a slow song comes on and Alexis tries to get off the dance floor, but Emmett pulls her to him.

"Just keep dancing."

Slowly their dancing becomes more intimate. Emmett wraps his arms around Alexis and holds her close, he leans down and brushes his lips against hers then he ghosts his lip against her neck working his way up to her ear.

"I miss you," Emmett whispers and kisses her neck.

Alexis' eyes slide shut as she feels Emmett's cold lips on her hot skin. He begins kissing along her jaw causing a shiver down her spine. Emmett places his forehead against hers and tightens his hold on her.

"I love you, please take me back." He says and softly kisses her lips.

Alexis wraps her arms around Emmett's neck, kissing him back. She pulls away and sighs.

"Emmett, I, I."

Suddenly her eyes widen, "I got him, I got his scent again."

Emmett reluctantly lets her go and follows Alexis out of the club. They follow behind the vampire and watch as he has his arm around a girl and is leading her to a car. The vampire suddenly slaps her across the face knocking her out.

"We have to help her!" Emmett says.

"We can't. We can't interfere we have to see what he plans to do."

They climb on top of the building and follow the vampire who goes into a nearby warehouse. Emmett and Alexis peer in through the window. Inside are dozens of vampires feeding on other humans. The vampire throws the girl to the ground roughly and she wakes up. Suddenly she grabbed from behind.

"Welcome to the army." A red-haired vampire says and bites her on the neck. The girl screams and the red-head throws her down.

"Victoria."

"That's Victoria?" Alexis asks.

"Yeah, so she's the one building an army."

"You knew?"

"I found out yesterday, I'll explain later, let's go."

With that, Emmett and Alexis went back to her car and called Ambrus to meet them at A Burger Place restaurant near the University.


	10. Second Chance

Alexis and Emmett got to the restaurant and ordered, they sat down to wait for Rosalie and Ambrus. While they waited, Alexis asked Emmett about this army that he knew about.

"I'll explain when the others get here."

Alexis huffed but agreed.

Emmett reached out and took Alexis' hand, he rubbed her knuckles with his thumb, "I want to talk about what happened at the club."

Alexis tried to pull her hand away but Emmett wouldn't let go, "Please, don't pull away from me, Lex, I want to know what you're thinking."

Alexis covers his hand with her own, "Now is not the time to talk about it, but I promise you we will talk about it."

At that moment Ambrus and Rosalie walk into the restaurant. Ambrus orders something to eat then sit down next to Alexis.

"What news do you have?"

"We found the vamp and followed him to a club. He seduced a girl to leave with him. Then he knocked her out and took her to a warehouse, where there were more vampires feeding on humans."

"Don't tell me he fed on her," Rosalie said.

"No, Victoria showed up and welcomed her to the army then bit her," Emmett said.

"So she's the one creating the army."

"Wait, you knew there was an army?" Ambrus asked.

"I asked Emmett the same thing," Alexis said.

"We found out yesterday. Apparently, there have been a lot of killings happening here in the city that we weren't aware of. Jasper figures that someone was creating an army of newborns but were not training them correctly," Rosalie explains.

"Well, now that we know it's Victoria, what is she after," Emmett asks.

Suddenly it dawns on Alexis, "Revenge. She has to be after Bella. That vamp she sent must have been a scout to see how vulnerable Bella really is."

"But if she was after Bella Alice would have seen it."

"Not if she's letting someone else make the decisions. That vamp we saw must be her second in command. Tell Alice not to focus on Victoria but on anyone that might be after Bella." Alexis explains.

Rosalie nods, "Okay I'll call Alice as soon as we leave here."

"I don't understand though, why is she after Bella if you killed James?" Emmett asked.

"Because the last thing she knew for certain was that Edward was the one protecting Bella, so, it's only natural for her to assume that Edward killed James. Remember my scent was masked, and even if it wasn't you know that we smell like nature and if she's not familiar with Lycans she'd never recognize our scent." Alexis explains.

"What do we do now?" Rose asks.

All three turn to Ambrus, he takes a drink of his soda then leans back to think, "We inform the others of what we have found out. They need to increase Bella and Charlie's protection. Then we observe them, count their numbers then make a plan of attack."

"Shouldn't we wait for them to come to us?" Rose asks.

"No, waiting is bad for us and good for them. It puts us on edge and makes us careless."

"Good, I hate waiting," Emmett says with a grin.

"Let's call it a night, we all have classes in the morning."

"Okay, but Alexis and I need to talk about a few things, so if you don't mind, Ambrus could you catch a ride with Rose?"

Ambrus looks at Alexis who gives him a slight nod, "That's fine Emmett as long as Rose doesn't mind."

"No, I don't mind at all."

They all stand up, Rose and Ambrus leave in Emmett's Jeep while Emmett leads Alexis to her car. He opens the door for her when she gets in he goes and gets in. Emmett drives them back to Alder Hall and they sit in the parking lot in silence until finally, Emmett breaks the silence.

"I'm sorry for what happened tonight, I didn't mean to pressure you. It's just that it felt so good having you in my arms again. Feeling your body close to mine, your warmth radiating through me. I couldn't help it, I had to kiss you."

Alexis inhales Emmett's scent and closes her eyes. She longs to be with him again, but she's at war with herself. Can he be trusted not to betray her again? Not to hurt her?" Finally, she comes to a decision.

"Alright, Emmett," She says without looking at him.

Emmett turns to look at her, he frowns. "Alright, what?"

Alexis looks at Emmett and she smiles at him, "I'm willing to give you a second chance."

Emmett's eyes widen and his mouth falls open, "Are you serious, you're really going to give me a second chance?"

Alexis reaches out for his hand and takes it in hers, "Yes, Emmett, I realized tonight that you've been busting your ass to gain my trust and slowly but surely you have gotten some of it back. Enough that I want to give us a try again. But I'm telling you right now, if you break my trust again or choose anyone over me again, I will never forgive you."

Emmett starts shaking his head, "No, Lexie, there will never be anyone but you, I swear. I understand what I did and I will never make that mistake again."

Alexis intertwines her fingers with his, "Good."

"Can I kiss you now," Emmett asks.

"Please do."

Emmett takes her face in his hand and leans in, he gently kisses her lips and moans. Alexis wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him closer deepening the kiss. Emmett moves his hand into Lex's hair while she wraps his arm around her waist. He licks her bottom lip begging for entrance, Alexis opens her mouth and Emmett's cold tongue slides into her mouth tangling with her tongue. They continue to make out until Alexis pulls away. Emmett places his forehead on her's.

"I love you so much, Lexie, thank you for taking me back." He whispers.

"Thank you for coming back, Baby."

"Stay with me tonight, sleep with me," Emmett begs.

"Emmett, we just got back together."

"I don't mean sex, let me hold you while you sleep like I used to. I want your scent on my bed. Please, Lexie, I don't want to be apart from you just yet."

Lex closes her eyes and gulps, "Alright, let me go get a change of clothes."

They get out of the car and go up to Alexis' dorm room holding hands. When they get there, Alexis tells Emmett to wait outside. She opens the door and slips in. Alexis goes and takes out her clothes for the next day and is about to leave when she stiffens.

"How long have you been awake, Sam?"

"Just now, where are you going, Lexie."

"I'm, uh, goingtogospendthenightwithEmmett." She says quickly.

"Say that again, but slower."

"I'm going to spend the night with Emmett."

Samantha bolts upright, "NO WAY!"

"Shh, do you want to wake the whole building?"

"Did you and Emmett get back together?"

"We're going to give it a try."

Samantha screams.

"Shut up!" Alexis whisper yells.

"Oh my god, you have got to tell me what happened."

"I'll tell you tomorrow, Emmett's waiting for me outside."

"You better tell me tomorrow, I want to know everything."

"Okay, I will, Goodnight, Samantha."

"Have fun, Alexis."

As soon as Alexis walked out of the room, Samantha grabbed her phone and texted Rosalie.

**Get over here right now, Lexie and Emmett got back together and are going back to the apartment!**

**(SCREAMS!) I'll be right over! I knew it was only a matter of time.**

Alexis and Emmett get into Alexis' car and drive to Emmett's apartment. They get out and take the elevator to the penthouse. Emmett unlocks the door to his apartment, he offers his hand to Alexis and she nervously takes it, letting Emmett lead her inside. It's a beautiful apartment with ceiling to floor windows a balcony and a grand piano. It has a spiral staircase and a professional kitchen.

Alexis looks at the piano then at Emmett, he smiles, "It came with the apartment." She nods.

Alexis walks towards the window and looks out over the city, the view is absolutely breathtaking. Emmett walks up behind her and wraps his arms around her. He kisses the top of her head.

"You, okay?"

"Yeah, just a little nervous."

"Why, it's just us. Apparently Rose went over to stay with Sam."

"It's been a long time since it's been just us."

Emmett turns Alexis around, "I know it has, is this too soon for you?"

"No, I want to be with you. I miss sleeping with you."

"Good, because I don't want you to feel forced to be here."

"I don't," Alexis says then leans up to kiss Emmett.

Emmett holds Alexis tighter to him and deepens the kiss. Alexis runs her fingers through his hair and gives it a light tug causing Emmett to growl. He plunges his tongue into her mouth and massages her tongue with his.

They pull away with a sigh, Emmett places his forehead against hers and gently kisses her, "Do you want anything, something to eat maybe?"

"No, it's late, I need to go to bed."

Emmett smiles, he lifts Alexis up and carries her up to his room. When they get to his room, Emmett sits her down on his bed, goes to his closet and grabs a t-shirt. He hands it to Alexis.

"Here you can wear this."

Alexis smiles at him then goes to the bathroom to get ready for bed. In the meantime, Emmett changes into sweats and a t-shirt and lies down on the bed. Alexis comes out of the bathroom wearing Emmett's t-shirt, it fits her like a dress coming down mid thigh. Emmett gives her the most radiant smile and lifts the covers for her. Alexis shyly climbs in and snuggled into Emmett. Once she's settled on his chest, she sighs out in contentment and closes her eyes.

"Goodnight Emmett."

Emmett wraps his arm around her, "Goodnight, Lexie, I love you so much."

"I love you too." 


	11. A New Beginning

The next morning Alexis woke up from the best night's sleep she had had in a long time. She looked around and realized that she wasn't in her dorm room. Slowly the night before started to come back to her. That's right Alexis had finally forgiven, somewhat, Emmett and now she was in his bed. At that moment, Alexis felt an arm wrap around her waist. She smiled and snuggled into Emmett's chest, he kissed the top of her head.

"Good morning, Emmett."

"Good morning, Baby, how did you sleep?"

"Better than I have in months, it's amazing how soothing your scent is."

Emmett kissed her neck, "Why, thank you."

"You're welcome."

Alexis let out a sigh and slowly her eyes started to close again. They suddenly open and she looks at the clock.

"Shit, I have to get ready for school."

She tries to get up but Emmett tightens his hold on her, "No, stay here with me. Let's not go to class today, I want to be with you and make up for lost time."

"Emmett, I can't miss school."

"Do you have any tests or papers due?"

"No."

"Then let Sam and Ambrus take notes for you. Please, Baby, I just got you back, I don't want to be apart from you just yet."

Alexis sighed, "Alright, hand me my phone."

Emmett hands Alexis her phone and she calls Samantha.

"Hello?"

"Sam it's me, hey I'm not going to class today. Could I borrow your notes later?"

Samantha laughs, "Why am I not surprised that you're not going to class? Of course, you can borrow my notes, but remember you promised to tell me what happened last night."

"Thank, Sammy, and of course I'll tell you. Oh and tell Ambrus what happened. I'm sure he'll be pleased."

"Will do, Lexie. You and Emmett have fun today."

"Thanks, Sam, say hi to Rose for me."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye."

Alexis ended the call and put her phone on the nightstand, she stretched and sighed. Rolling over she looked into Emmett's amber eyes, he smiled at her and nuzzled her nose.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, "There you have me to yourself all day."

"Thank god," He said as he leaned down and start kissing her neck.

Alexis giggled and pushed Emmett away, he looked at her and pouted.

"Don't give me that look, Emmett, I have to go to the bathroom."

"No, you're staying right here." He said as he continued to kiss and nip her neck.

"Emmett, I have to pee."

He sighed and rolled off of Alexis, "Fine, but you're coming straight back to bed."

Alexis giggles, and gets up. She goes to the bathroom, does her business, brushes her teeth and hair then comes back out. Emmett smiles at her and lifts the covers for her to crawl back under. Emmett wraps his arms around his girlfriend and attacks her neck again. Alexis' eyes roll back and she moans. Emmett nips and sucks on her neck. He's so tempted to sink his teeth into her neck to mark her as his. Never had the need to mark Alexis been so strong, just the mere thought of marking his mate makes Emmett hard. But he resists, instead he licks her neck causing her to shiver.

Emmett smiles at her reaction, "You like that, baby," He whispers in her ear.

"Oh, god yes, Emmett." She said as she writhed underneath him, Emmett groans at feeling her press up against his hardening member.

He grinds himself against her core, trying to get some relief. Alexis pulls his head toward her lips and kisses him passionately. She wraps her arms around him and starts pulling his shirt off. Emmett runs his hand underneath her shirt up to her side until he reaches her breast. He gently squeezes her breast and rolls her nipple between his fingers.

Suddenly Alexis' stomach growls loudly, Emmett pulls away laughing.

"I guess someone's hungry."

Alexis blushes, "Sorry about that."

"No, no it's fine, we have to stop anyway before we go too far."

"You're right, Baby, we barely got back together last night."

Emmett rolls over and reaches for his laptop. He places an order at Fat's Chicken and Waffles. Emmett ordered enough food for four people. While he waited for breakfast to arrive, Alexis went to the bathroom to take a shower and change. By the time she got out the food had arrived.

"Food's here, Babe," Emmett tells her as she walks out of the bedroom.

Alexis takes a deep breath, "Oh my god that smells so good."

Alexis goes into the kitchen and kisses Emmett, "Thank you, baby, for breakfast."

"You're welcome, Babe."

Emmett pulls the seat out for Alexis then serves her some chicken and waffles. While Alexis ate, Emmett went to shower and change. By the time he came out, Alexis was on her third helping of chicken and waffles.

"Damn, Baby, you were hungry."

Alexis only smiled at him and took another bite. Emmett sits down next to her, taking her hand he brings it to his lips and kisses it.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Emmett asks.

"I really don't care, as long as we're together. Why don't we just stay here, watch some movies then go have lunch with everyone."

Emmett agrees and they go back to the bedroom to cuddle on the bed and watch movies. At noon they head over to the café where they normally have lunch with the others. By the time they arrive, Ambrus, Samantha, and Rosalie are already there. Alexis and Emmett walk in holding hands causing Samantha to squeal when she saw them.

"I am so happy you guys are back together!" Samantha said as she stood up and hugged her best friend and Emmett.

"Thank you, Sam," Alexis tells her.

Ambrus smiles at the reunited couple, "Yes, I too am happy for you both." He said and stood up to hug Alexis and shake Emmett's hand.

But before Ambrus lets go of Emmett's hand, he gives it a squeeze, "But know this, Emmett, hurt her again and I will not hesitate in destroying you."

"I know you won't, Ambrus, and trust me I have no intention of screwing this up."

"Good."

While Emmett and Ambrus were talking, Rosalie congratulates Alexis then Emmett once Ambrus steps away.

They then all sit down to have lunch and Alexis explains what happened the night before that brought her and Emmett back together.


	12. One Steamy Night

**WARNING: SEXUALLY EXPLICIT CONTENT!**

The next few weeks passed by rapidly. Finals were approaching and Alexis Ambrus and Samantha spent every waking moment studying for their exams. When they were not studying, Alexis and Emmett could be found together getting reacquainted with each other. Emmett felt that he had a lot to make up for and they decided to take things slow until after finals were over. But that all changed one Friday night in May.

Alexis woke up in the middle of the night feeling absolutely terrible. It felt like she had a fever and her body ached. She suddenly got a sharp pain in her stomach that doubled her over. She groaned and laid back down in the fetal position. Samantha woke up and looked over at Alexis. She sat up to get a better look at her.

"Lex, what's wrong?"

But Alexis didn't hear her, she was in too much pain and it felt like she was on fire, she was sweating profusely. Suddenly Alexis started writhing and arching her back. Samantha's eyes widened she went up to Alexis to try to calm her down but Alexis's eyes flashed yellow and she snarled at Sam.

Samantha immediately backed off and grabbed her phone, the first person she thought to call was Ambrus.

"Hello?"

"Ambrus we need your help."

"Why what's wrong?"

"Lexie woke me up she was groaning in her sleep curled up in the fetal position she's sweating like she has a fever, then suddenly thrashing and arching her back I tried to get close to her but her eyes flashed yellow and she snarled at me. What's going on, what do I do?"

"There's nothing you can do for her except call Emmett."

"Emmett, why?"

"Alexis is going into her first heat and she needs Emmett."

"You're kidding?"

"No, now that she and Emmett are back together, it was only a matter of time for her heat to be triggered. He needs to mate her before this gets any worse."

"What do you mean worse?"

"The pain from her heat could potentially kill her."

"Holy shit! Let me call Emmett then."

"They are going to need privacy, Sam, so it would be best if they go back to Emmett's apartment."

"Okay, I'll let him know."

Samantha hangs up and calls Emmett.

Emmett was in the middle of playing video games when his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Emmett? You need to get over here right now, Lexie needs you."

Emmett sits up and pauses his game, "What wrong with Lexie, is she hurt?"

"Not yet, but she will be if you don't get here fast."

"I'm on my way."

20 minutes later Emmett gets to the dorm. While they were waiting for Emmett, Samantha packed some clothes for Alexis and put a cold washcloth on her forehead. She tried to get Alexis to get up and go to the bathroom to take a cold shower, but she was in too much pain. All she would do was moan and groan and writhe on the bed.

Emmett gets there and ran inside the building, he takes the stairs using his vampire speed to get to the top floor in seconds. He walks as quickly as he can to Sam and Lexie's dorm and knocks on the door. Samantha flings the door open.

"Thank god, you're here."

"What's going on," Emmett asks as he steps into the room.

He stops short when he's assaulted with the greatest scent he has ever smelled in his existence. His eyes roll back and his growls deep in his chest.

"What is that smell?"

"What smell?"

"You can't smell it? It smells like chocolate and cherries, it smells so good my mouth is watering."

"That's got to be Lex."

"Lexie, what do you mean?"

"Emmett, Lexie's in heat, you must be smelling her heat."

"What do you mean she's in the heat?"

"I called Ambrus and told him what was going on, he said she must be starting her first heat."

"Why now?"

"Ambrus said that since you two got back together it was only a matter of time for this to happen. She needs you, Emmett."

"Okay, I'll take care of her."

Emmett walks over to Alexis' bed and kneels down, he can see the sweat pouring off of her and her scent is getting stronger. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a second. When he opens them his eyes are now black with lust. He takes the washcloth that Samantha hands him and wipes Lexie's forehead.

"Baby, it's me, can you hear me?"

Alexis slowly opens her eyes, "Emmett, I'm so glad you're here. I need you so bad."

"I know you do, baby, I'm going to make the pain go away. I'm going to take you back to the apartment where I can take care of you."

Alexis closed her eyes and shuttered, she curled into a ball and groaned, having Emmett nearby dulled her pain a little. Emmett very carefully picked her up bridal style, he gasped at how hot she was. He stood up and started walking towards the door.

"Sam, can you pack some clothes for her please?"

"Already done, I have her bag right here. I'll follow you out."

"Thanks."

Samantha opened the door and followed Emmett out, the took the elevator down to the first floor. Luckily it was pretty late so there was no one around. Emmett walks faster to his Jeep and opens his door he puts Alexis in the Jeep and straps her in. Taking the bag from Sam, he thanks her and gets in the Jeep.

"Take care of her, Emmett."

"I will, I promise."

With that, he drove off back to his apartment. He parks in the garage and rushes to the passenger side to get Alexis. Emmett carefully takes her out of his Jeep and notices that she is even hotter. He quickly makes his way upstairs to his apartment. Once inside, Emmett goes straight upstairs to his room, he lays Alexis on the bed and takes her clothes off, then he strips, picks her up and carries her to the bathroom. Turning on the shower to luke-warm he gets in with Alexis in his arms. She gasps and tries to get out of his arms.

"It's too cold!"

"No it isn't, baby, you're burning up, we need to get your temperature down."

Emmett stands there in the water for a few minutes with Alexis in his arms until he feels her body starting to cool down. She lets out a sigh of relief and relaxes in his arms. After a few more minutes, Emmett turns off the water and steps out of the shower. He sits Alexis down and dries her off, then himself. Picking her up, he takes her back to his bed and lies her down.

The relief was short-lived Alexis starts writhing on the bed rubbing her legs together trying to relieve her pain. She looks at Emmett who is standing there in only a pair of boxers, a gush of slick drips from her core down her legs onto the bed. Emmett's nostrils flare and his eyes darken.

Alexis rolls over onto her hands and knees in front of Emmett spread her legs and presents herself, "Emmett, please I need you, take me."

Emmett has a perfect view of her glistening swollen folds. He could see her clit pulsating in time with her heart while slick leaking out of Alexis running down her legs. He couldn't help himself the scent of her was so intoxicating that Emmett had to taste her. Grabbing Alexis by the hips he takes a long lick. Alexis squeals when his cold tongue makes contact with her overheated pussy.

Emmett laps up her dripping pussy and moans, he can't get enough of her sweet taste. He lies down on the bed and pulls Alexis down on his face. Alexis cries out as Emmett swirl his tongue and sucks on her clit. Alexis starts grinding her pussy into Emmett's face while he moans sending waves of pleasure through her body.

Grabbing hold of her thighs, Emmett flips them so Alexis is lying on her back. He continues to push and suck and circle around her bundle of nerves using her moans to guide him. Alexis fisted the sheets around her as the bubble in her core bursts into a million pieces. Emmett buries his face further into her as she comes in his mouth.

Emmett came up to kiss Alexis with his slick covered face and though the orgasm he gave her was incredible her heat was not backing down. She needed more. Alexis kissed him hard and sucked on his bottom lip. He smiled into the kiss. Her aggression only making him harder. Emmett reached down and pulled his boxers off then she felt him line up his massive cock with her entrance and circle it within her folds a few times. Getting it nice and wet.

"Emmett, please," She begged.

"Hush Lexie," he said with a heavy voice. He brought one hand to her face and kissed Alexis deeply before slowly thrusting his cock inside. The noise that came out of her made him groan.

Her pussy was so tight that Emmett needed a minute before he could continue. He was stretching her walls so much it caused her pain and Alexis had to bite down on his shoulder to hold back the scream, cracking his marble skin.

Emmett took a moment to adjust to her tight pussy and looked down at the utter mess Alexis was beneath him. *His* little mate.

He began to pull in and out of her, bottoming out with each powerful thrust. Eventually, the sting she felt slowly melted into pure, euphoria and Alexis stretched her arm above her head and pressed against the headboard. Alexis continued to bite at his shoulder and claw at his back as he picked up the pace, slamming into her g-spot so hard she could no longer hold back her screams.

Every noise Alexi made encouraged him to push deeper. He snaked his hand under her ass and propped her up to get a better angle. Alexis threw her head back into the pillow and clawed at his chest. She closed her eyes tightly as she felt her second orgasm coming closer. Her walls were tightening around his cock and her vision started to blur.

Emmett felt her climax coming when something bizarre started happening his cock. It began to engorge inside Alexis, catching on her walls with each thrust. He reached down to her neck and sucked on the soft spot he had been craving to taste. Lexie's orgasm hit and her walls convulsed around him, a shockwave flooded throughout her entire body.

Emmett's climax hit as well and he felt the head of his cock fully engorge, locking him inside her. Not being able to resist, Emmett's fangs elongated and he bit down hard on the junction of Lexie's shoulder and neck. Marking her as his mate.

Alexis opened her eyes again, completely disoriented, trembling and out of breath.

She smiled up at him as they both came down from their highs. Bringing both hands to his face she pulls him in for a long, deep kiss. With a smile, he turned them both over so that Alexis was now lying on top of him. A much more comfortable position to be in while the waited for the swell of his cock to go down.

It took a moment to grasp what had just happened and Alexis couldn't help but giggle into Emmett's chest. He laughed with her and cleared the hair from her face as she rested on top of him, tracing the sizeable red scar on his shoulder. This particular bite was going to leave Emmett with a mating mark as well.

"That was...wow" Alexis admitted softly. Emmett smiled and hummed in agreement, wiping the sweat from her brow.

"Did I hurt you, Babe, are you in pain?"

"No, Baby, I'm fine. I actually feel incredible.

"There's something I don't understand, why did the head of my cock swell?" Emmett asked.

"Um, that was me. Lycan females trigger the males to knot their mates.

"Is that going to happen every time we make love?"

"No, just during my heat."

"I like it, it feels so good," Emmett said with a smirk.

Alexis giggled and smacked his chest. She laid her head on his chest and sighed.

"Well, it's official, you're mine, baby," Emmett said as he ran his fingers up and down her spine.

"And you're mine, that bite I gave is going to scar."

Emmett smiled happily, he loved the idea of being marked by his mate. He wanted everyone to know that he belonged to Alexis.

They lay there quietly for a while, Emmett continuing to run his fingers up and down Lexie's back while she did the same to his chest. His cold skin helping to cool down her fevered body. She yawned and slowly drifted off to sleep.

When she woke a few hours later, the mated again. They continued to mate like this several times every few hours for the next three days.


	13. Mating Season

**WARNING: SEXUAL CONTENT!**

Alexis' heat lasts for three days. In that period, Alexis fluctuated from moments of sexual delirium and clarity. Those rare moments of clarity, Emmett would make sure that Alexis would eat and drink water. Alexis would then slip back into delirium and beg Emmett to mount her. It was a good thing that Emmett was a vampire and just as insatiable; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to keep up with Alexis. He brought Alexis to completion with his talented tongue and fingers several times. Then Emmett would flip Alexis over onto her stomach and roughly enter her, she would scream in pleasure.

"Ah, Emmett, fuck me hard. I need you."

Emmett would slam into Alexis as hard as he could, holding onto her hips, pulling her back onto his cock, "So good, you take me so well, Baby. I love your tight little pussy." Emmett growled out.

Emmett increased his speed to an inhuman pace, his balls slapping against Lexie's clit deliciously. Alexis screamed and fell forward on the bed, raising her ass higher, letting Emmett drive in deeper. He groaned at feeling his cock slip deeper into his mate. Emmett started driving his cock even harder into Lexie's pussy, causing the Lycan to see stars. Emmett grabbed Alexis by the hair and pulled her up, so her back was against his chest. His hand slipped between her legs, and Emmett started rubbing her clit hard.

"Come for me," Emmett commanded.

Alexis threw her head back and howled; her walls gripped Emmett so tightly that he couldn't move. Emmett continued to rub circles on her clit, prolonging her orgasm. Alexis went limp in Emmett's arm as he continued to pump into her, chasing his release. Emmett ran his teeth over the mating mark and began sucking on it, Alexis moaned as pleasure shot straight to her core. She started building again.

Emmett suddenly pulled out, Alexis whined at the loss of him. Emmett laid down on the bed and pulled Alexis on top of him, "Ride me, baby."

Alexis lined up his cock with her pussy and slammed down on him, causing them both to moan. Emmett watched as Alexis rode his cock wildly, her head thrown back in ecstasy, her hands playing with her nipples. Emmett started thrusting up into her; he suddenly sat up and slammed his mouth on hers. Alexis wrapped her arms around Emmett's neck and used him for leverage to increase her speed.

Emmett pushed her onto her back without pulling out. Sitting on his knees, he kept thrusting into her, watching his cock disappear into Lexie's pussy. Emmett lifted her ass, hitting her G-spot. Alexis fisted the sheet and cried out. He pushed her knees up to her chest, thrusting in deeper, hitting her cervix. Alexis came hard, finally triggering Emmett's orgasm; the base of his cock started to swell and catch against her walls. He groaned as he shot his load into Alexis, coating her womb with his seed.

Emmett released Lexie's legs and kissed her thighs, he then very carefully rolled them over for her to lie on top of him. Alexis sighed and lazily reached up to kiss Emmett. She snuggled into him and slowly fell asleep. Emmett ran his finger up and down her back as she slept, listening to her heartbeat return to normal. Emmett wrapped his arms around Alexis; he closed his eyes and sighed. He was enjoying the feel of her hot body against his cold skin.

At the end of Alexis' heat, she was deliciously sore and could barely walk. Emmett prepared a bath for them and carried her into the bathroom. He sat down in the tub with Alexis in his arms and placed her between his legs. Emmett slowly washed her body, being careful with all the love bites that Emmett had left on her body. Gently he washed the mating mark; it was red and scarring nicely. The bite that Alexis had given Emmett had also scarred. Alexis leaned against Emmett with her eyes closed, enjoying his ministrations. Once she was clean, Alexis returned the favor.

They got out of the bath, dressed, and went to the kitchen where Emmett made sure to feed his mate. His instincts were now screaming at him to care and protect Alexis. He had this need in him to make sure she was safe and comfortable. Thank goodness the semester was almost over, Emmett didn't think he could stand being away from Alexis for too long.

After breakfast, they went back to the bedroom and stripped the bed. Alexis took everything to the laundry room to wash while Emmett remade the bed. Even though the sheets were changed, Emmett could still smell Alexis on his bed. He smirked at the thought of always having her scent lingering in his bedroom. After washing everything and putting it away, Alexis and Emmett spent the rest of the day watching movies and cuddling. He kept bringing Alexis food and water to replenish the energy she had used. That night Alexis slept comfortably in Emmett's arms.

The next day, Alexis and Emmett went back to school. Samantha was so relieved to see Alexis. She had planned to call to check up on Lexie, but Ambrus told her not to bother. They weren't going to answer the phone anyway. The minute Samantha saw Alexis, she gave her a fierce hug.

"Are you okay?"

Alexis smiled, "Yeah, I'm okay. Emmett and I are officially mated."

"That's great, Lexie; I'm happy for you."

"Thank you, Sammy. Did you take notes for me?"

"Of course. Ambrus and I got everything covered for you."

Ambrus then hugged Alexis. She didn't have to tell him that she and Emmett were now bonded, Alexis was drenched in Emmett's scent. He smiled at Alexis and kissed her head, "Congratulations, Pup. I know that Emmett will make the perfect mate."

"Thank you, Ambrus."

Ambrus looked at Emmett and offered his hand, "You are a lucky man, Emmett. Take good care of the pup."

Emmett smiled and took Ambrus's hand, "I will, Ambrus, don't worry."

After being congratulated by Rosalie, they all sat down and had lunch. Emmett pulled Alexis into his lap and kissed her temple as she had her lunch. After lunch, Emmett and Alexis went their seperate way to their classes.


	14. Chapter 14 Returning Home

The rest of the semester went by quickly. Before Alexis and Emmett knew it, it was June 6th, and finals had started. Alexis was so busy; she barely had time to be with Emmett. It was distressing for both of them, but they made do. Finally, finals ended, and everyone packed up to head back to Forks. Alexis asked Ambrus if he wanted to spend the summer with her and her mother.

"I'll stay long enough to deal with the Newborn Army, but I must meet my packmates in New York later and head home. I will be back in the Fall, though," Ambrus tells Alexis.

"Thank you, Ambrus, for helping us with this problem. When we get back to Forks, we can make plans with the Cullens to take care of the newborns. Would you like to attend Bella's graduation with us?"

"I would love to, Pup."

When they arrive in Forks, The two vehicles veer off in different directions. Emmett and Rosalie are going to the Cullen house while Alexis, Samantha, and Ambrus went through the town to drop off Samantha and then go back to Alexis' house.

When they arrive, Elizabeth is just getting home from work. She smiles and waves to her daughter and Ambrus. They get out of the car, and Elizabeth hugs her daughter. She takes in her daughter's scent and smells Emmett all over her. Elizabeth smirks at Alexis and moves her daughter's hair aside.

"I see that congratulations are in order."

Alexis blushes, "Um, yeah, I guess so."

Elizabeth laughs, "You don't have to be shy about mating with Emmett, Sweetheart, it's only natural. Although I think Daddy's going to be a little upset when he finds out his little girl isn't a little girl anymore."

"How little? A little upset as in disgruntle or a little upset, like on a psychotic rampage."

Elizabeth laughed, "Probably somewhere in the middle."

"Oh, I think Emmett can handle that," Alexis said.

"Let's hope he can," Elizabeth replies.

After they finished saying hello, Elizabeth hugged Ambrus and welcomed him into her home. Ambrus thanks Elizabeth then they go into the house. Ambrus goes into the guest room while Alexis goes to her room to unpack and freshen up. Once she's done that, Alexis heads downstairs where Ambrus and Elizabeth are talking.

"So, you think that it would be best to lure the Newborns out of Seattle then attack them?" Elizabeth asks.

"Yes, this way, there is less collateral damage."

Elizabeth nods. She looks at Alexis when she walks into the living room, "So, baby, how do you think you did on your finals?"

"I think I did pretty good; the tests were easier than I thought they'd be."

"Good, I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Mom."

"You're welcome, honey. So, are you going to go visit Bella and Charlie?"

"Yeah, Ambrus, do you want to come with me?"

"Certainly, I would like to congratulate Bella."

"Great, let's go now."

"Alright, while you two are gone, I'll get started on dinner."

"Oh, Mom, you don't have to cook."

"Nonsense, I want to. Since you're going to go to Charlie's house, invite them to dinner."

"Okay, Mom. Let's go, Ambrus."

Ambrus stood up and accompanied Alexis to the back yard; they jumped the fence and made their way to Charlie's front door. Alexis knocked on the door and heard Bella running down the stairs, she opened the door and smiled happily at see her cousin and Ambrus.

"Alexis, Ambrus, when did you get back," Bella asked.

"We got back a little while ago. We came over to congratulate you and ask you and Charlie to join us for dinner."

Bella stepped aside and allowed her cousin and Ambrus to come into the house, "Thanks, and sure Dad and I would love to join you for dinner," Bella said as she led them into the living room.

Alexis and Ambrus sat down, "Are you nervous about graduating tomorrow?"

"A little, I'm more excited than nervous. I can't wait to move on with my life."

"Have you decided where you're going to school?"

"I got accepted to UW and a few schools back East. I'm leaning towards going to NYU."

"Have you decided what you want to study?" Ambrus asked.

"Law. I want to be an attorney."

"That's great; I think you'd make a great attorney."

"Thanks. Oh, Alice is throwing a graduation party tomorrow night, of course, you and Ambrus are invited."

"Thank you, Bella, I would love to come to your graduation party," Ambrus said.

"So, what's been going on with you, Lexie? How are things between you and Emmett?"

Alexis beamed at Bella, "Wonderful, Emmett and I are very happy."

"I'm glad to hear that, after everything you two went through, you deserve to be happy."

"Thank you, Bella, how are you and Edward?"

Bella shrugged, "They're okay, he and I are finally friends, but I've decided that I don't want to get back together with him. He's not the right person for me."

"Are you okay with that?" Alexis asked.

"Yeah, when I came to that realization, it felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Alice was very disappointed in my decision to not get back together with Edward. She told me she was looking forward to having me as her sister. But she understood that Edward was too obsessed with me and that we would never have a healthy relationship. Edward is having a harder time accepting it, but hopefully, one day, he will."

"I'm sure he will, and if he doesn't well, that's his problem. Did you tell Charlie."

Bella laughed, "Yeah, he's so happy I decided to move on with my life without Edward."

"I'm sure he is."

At that moment, Charlie walks into the house. He hangs up his gun belt and walks into the living room. Charlie smiles at Alexis and Ambrus, "Hey, you two, when did you get back?"

"A little while ago, we came over to catch up with Bella and to congratulate her on graduating; also, to invite you both over for dinner."

"Oh, that nice of you, we'd love to join you and Liz for dinner. What time do you want us over?" Charlie asked.

"In about two hours, Mom just started dinner." Alexis looked at her watch, "And I should probably get back to help her. We'll see you both later."

Bella and Charlie agree. Alexis and Ambrus said goodbye, then left the Swan house. They went back to Alexis' house, and Alexis went to the kitchen to help Elizabeth, "Why don't you relax in the living room until dinner," Elizabeth told Ambrus then hands him a glass of wine.

"Thank you, Elizabeth, are you sure you don't need any help?"

"No, thank you, Ambrus. Lexie and I have everything under control."

Ambrus nods and goes to the living room to have his wine and watch a little television. Elizabeth sets out some hors d'oeuvres for Ambrus and the others when they arrive. A short while later, Charlie and Bella arrive. Elizabeth hugs her brother and Bella and invites them to join Ambrus in the living room. After a while, Bella gets up and joins Alexis and Elizabeth in the kitchen to make dinner.

Once dinner was ready, the women take everything into the dining room and call Ambrus and Charlie to dinner. They all sit down to a lovely meal, talking about how things had been going since the last time Charlie had seen his niece. The conversation flowed smoothly throughout dinner.

Meanwhile, at the Cullen house, Alice was taking care of the last minute details for the party, when Emmett and Rosalie arrived. She smiled at her siblings and went to greet them. The minute she hugged Emmett, she smelled Emmett drenched in Alexis' scent. Her eyes lit up at what that meant. She looked at Emmett, who had this smug look on his face, "I gather by the look on your face, and by the way, you smell that you and Alexis finally made it official. You two are mates."

Emmett grinned and looked at Rosalie, who rolled her eyes, "Yep, Pixie, Alexis and I are officially mated. She's mine forever," Emmett said, then pulled the collar of his shirt aside, showing Alice his mating mark.

Alice squealed and hugged her brother, "Congratulations, Emmett; I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you, Pixie."

At Emmett's announcement, the other vampires came into the living room to congratulate Emmett. Carlisle pats Emmett on the shoulder, "Congratulations, Son, I'm happy for you."

"Thank you, Carlisle."

Esme gave Emmett a fierce hug and kissed him on the cheek, "Oh, Emmett, I'm so thankful that you and Alexis got back together, and I'm happy for you as well."

"Thanks, Mom."

Jasper and Edward congratulated Emmett, though, Edward did it half-heartedly. When Rosalie asked Edward what was wrong, Edward informed them about Bella's decision; she didn't want him anymore.

"I'm sorry about that, Man," Emmett told Edward.

"Thanks, Em, but it's my fault, I went about mine and Bella's relationship all wrong from the beginning. I shouldn't have treated her the way I did, and now I'm paying the price," Edward said with a sigh, "And Emmett, I'm sorry I almost cost you your relationship with Alexis."

Emmett only nodded, he couldn't quite forgive Edward for what he had done. True, everything worked out in the end, but Alexis and Emmett had suffered a lot to get to that point. Edward hung his head, knowing what Emmett was thinking, and he couldn't blame Emmett for still being angry with him. Edward excused himself and went to his piano and began to play. Emmett went upstairs to his room to unpack and then came back down to ask Japer if he wanted to go hunting.

When Emmett got home from hunting, he took a shower and called his mate, "Hello?"

"Hey, beautiful, how are you," Emmett asked, Alexis

Alexis smiled, "Hello, handsome, I'm good; I'm about to watch a movie with the family."

"Oh, well, I'll let you go, I only wanted to check in with you and tell you that I love you so much."

"Aww, Emmett, I love you too. I'll call you later tonight if you want?"

"Yeah, or better yet, how about I come over right now and watch the movie with you?"

"I like that idea better. Then you can sleepover, and I told my mom that we mated; she knows we shouldn't be apart."

There was a long pause, "How does your mom do it with your dad?"

"It's hard on her to be away from my dad for so long, and that's why we spend the whole summer with him so that my mom can reconnect with him in some way."

"Man, that's awful."

"I know, but there's nothing we can do about that, but wait for my dad to wake up."

Emmett sighed, "I feel terrible for them."

"Me too."

"Well, I'll be over in a little bit, okay?"

"Okay, Honey Bear, I love you."

"I love you too, Babe."

With that, Alexis hung up and went downstairs and went into the living room where everyone had gathered to watch a movie. A little while later, Emmett arrived, He knocked on the door, and Elizabeth answered the door. She smiled at Emmett and hugged him, "Emmett, it's good to see you."

"Hello, Mrs. Hale. I hope you don't mind that I'm here."

"Of course not, please come in."

Emmett walked in and went into the living room, where everyone greeted him. Alexis got up and hugged her mate; she wrapped her arm around his waist, then Bella got up and hugged Emmett, "I'm so happy for you and Lexie, Emmett."

"Thank you, Bella."

Charlie looked between Alexis and Emmett, confused.

"What happened between each other, besides you getting back together?"

Alexis beamed at her uncle, "We're officially mates, Uncle Charlie."

Charlie understood what that meant and smiled at his niece, "Congratulations, you two."

Emmett was surprised that Chief Swan congratulated them, but smiled anyway, "Thank you, Chief."

"Oh, please, Emmett, you're practically family now, you can call me Charlie."

"Thanks, Charlie."

Emmett greeted Ambrus then sat down with Alexis, and they started the movie. After watching two movies, they called it a night. Charlie and Bella went home while everyone went to bed. Emmett carried Alexis into her room, he changed her into one of his t-shirts then put her in bed. He then undressed down to his boxers and got into bed with her. Alexis cuddled into Emmett and kissed his bare chest.

"Goodnight, Emmett."

Emmett kissed the top of her head, "Goodnight, Lexie."

The next morning, Alexis woke up to Emmett kissing her neck. She smiled as she felt Emmett's cold lips on her skin. He licked her mating mark, making her moan, Emmett chuckled at Alexis' reaction. Alexis rolled over to face him and smiled, "Good morning, Honey Bear."

"Good morning, Baby."

Emmett leaned in to kiss Alexis, but she put her hand on his face and pushed him away, "Let me brush my teeth first."

"I don't care," Emmett told her.

"Yeah, but I do, I'll be right back."

Emmett groaned but let Alexis get up. She quickly went to the bathroom to do her morning ritual, then came out and got back into bed with Emmett. Alexis looked at the clock and noticed that it was only six in the morning. They still had more than enough time until they had to get up. Alexis rolled to face Emmett and kissed him, "Now, you can kiss me," Alexis said with a smile.

Emmett growled and kissed her fiercely. Alexis giggled when Emmett rolled them over so that he was on top of her. He started kissing and nipping his way down her neck, while his hands roamed her body. Emmett began to slide Alexis' shorts off until she caught his hand.

"We are not having sex in my mom's house."

"Why not?"

"Oh, I don't know, because this is my mom's house and I'm not going to do something like that in her house. Plus, these rooms are not soundproof, and I don't want her and Ambrus to hear us."

Emmett sighed, "Fine, then, let's go back to my house."

"How about you go back to your house and get ready to go to Bella's graduation?"

"Babe, it's still early, we have time."

"Fine, we can make out for a bit, then you're going to help me make breakfast for Bella at her house."

Emmett huffed, "Fine, now, where were we?" Emmett asked as he wrapped his arms around his mate and started making out with her again.

An hour later, Alexis and Emmett finally got up. Alexis went to take a shower while Emmett quickly went home to shower and change. By the time he got back, the Lycans were at Bella's house, getting ready to start breakfast for Charlie and Bella. Emmett jumped the fence and knocked on the front door. Charlie opened and greeted Emmett.

"Good morning, Emmett, what brings you by so early?"

"Good morning, Charlie, I'm here to help with breakfast."

Charlie raised an eyebrow, "You know how to cook?" Charlie asked as he let Emmett into the house.

"I learned when Lexie and I started dating. I need to keep my mate fed," Emmett said happily.

Charlie nodded, "Well, Lexie and Liz are in the kitchen if you want to join them, or you can watch the news with Ambrus and me."

"I'll go see if they need any help."

Emmett walked into the kitchen, and Alexis instantly put a bowl in his hand and told him to start mixing the batter for waffles. While Emmett was doing that, Alexis and Liz were busy making eggs, bacon, sausage, and hash browns. As soon as Emmett was finished with the batter, Alexis showed him how to use the waffle iron, and he got started on making the waffles. By the time Bella got up, breakfast was ready.

They had an excellent breakfast and talked for a while. Bella informed her Aunt Liz that she decided to go to NYU and study law. Liz hugged her niece and congratulated her on her decision, "And you won't be alone, Laura, Derek, and Cora all go to NYU, so you'll at least know someone in the city."

Bella's eyes brighten, "That would be great, do you think they'll mind if I hang out with them? At least until I'm comfortable."

"Not at all, Bella, you're part of the pack. We take care of our own," Liz tells her niece.

A few minutes later there's a knock on the door. Alexis answers the door, and Alice comes in. She has greeted everyone and hugs, Alexis, congratulating her on becoming Emmett's mate. Alice then hugs Bella and gives her a box that has her a dress in it for graduation. Bella thanks Alice, and Alice takes Bella by the hand and takes her upstairs.

"It's time to get you ready for graduation," Alice tells Bella.

Bella smiles and agrees; she was no longer the girl that hated dressing up and having people fuss over her. She would prefer that people wouldn't fuss over her, but at least now Bella could handle it better.

"Okay, let's get started," Bella tells Alice. Alice squeals and ushers Bella upstairs.

A few hours later, Bella was ready, and Alice had gone home to get ready as well. Bella, Charlie, and Liz drive to the school in Liz's SUV while Alexis, Ambrus, and Emmett take Emmett's Jeep. When they get there, Alice, Bella, Edward, and Jasper join the graduating class while the other go sit down with the Cullens and Samantha. A few minutes later, Jacob, Seth, and Billy show up and sit behind the Cullens and Alexis and Ambrus, Liz had to go up on stage. Jacob and Seth talk with the Cullens while Billy talks with Alexis, Ambrus, and Charlie.

A few minutes later, the graduation ceremony starts. Jessica Stanley came on stage to give her speech. It was an excellent speech but not nearly as good as the year before. When she finishes, they begin handing out their diplomas.

The Cullens, Alexis, Samantha, Ambrus, and Charlie all cheer when Alice, Edward Jasper, and Bella get their diplomas. When the ceremony was over, everyone congratulated the Bella and the others. After that, Bella, Charlie, Elizabeth, Alexis, and Ambrus went out to eat while the Cullens went home to get ready for the party. Bella had a lot of fun with her family during dinner. After dinner they went home so that Bella and Alexis could get ready for the party. It was going to be an eventful evening.


End file.
